A Charming Betrayal
by The Dark Arrow
Summary: Ben has been framed of attempted murder, but no one believes that he didn't do it. Betrayed by his own friends, he runs to the only person that might help him. Someone he hasn't seen in years. But she has a few plans of her own. I don't own Ben 10 or the Cover Image.
1. Chapter 1

Before you Read-

I am new to writing; in fact this is only my second story. My first one isn't even complete but I wanted to take a break from the same story. This story will have some strong language, violence, and lemons. I'm giving a fair warning that this may not a bright, sunny, happy story at all times. This story will be rather dark and have some things that would never happen in the actual show. I also apologize; I have not watched the show in years, so I only have what I remember to go off of. Please review and enjoy

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-~Chapter 1~-

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"What the fuck! Do you seriously believe that I would do this?" I half screamed at Gwen and Kevin. How could they possibly believe that I would try to murder Grandpa Max? My own grandpa! Yet I was accused of do something I could never in a million years do. "The evidence doesn't lie, Tennyson." Kevin stated. "After all this time, I thought you were cool but you were just one of those sick fucks that you hear about on TV." He followed. "How could you, Ben?" Gwen cried with tears in her eyes. Here I was in a police station handcuffed to a table while the police were filing the case and asking me questions. They allowed Kevin and Gwen in to say a few things before I was going to be hauled off to prison for most of, if not all, of my life.

The police said that their time for visiting was up and that they had to leave the room. Kevin comforted Gwen as they walked out the door. I just couldn't believe it! I saved the world how many times and it's like nobody even remembers! Why would they think that I did this!? An officer entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"Ben Tennyson?" he more stated than asked. "Yes?" I responded. "I am going to be asking you a few questions. You must answer them, they are being recorded." I just stared at him hopelessly waiting for the first question. "First question: Did you attempt at murder of your grandfather, Max Tennyson?" he asked already knowing my answer. "Of course not, I'm not a criminal!" I answered. "Then why was your fingerprint found on the knife used in the attempt?" the officer getting right to the questions I couldn't answer. "I don't know." I stated only to be relentless followed by more questions I had no answer to.

"Why did the victim say that you did it"

"Why was his blood found on one of your jackets?"

"Why was that jacket found in a nearby dumpster?"

"Why wa-"

"I DON'T KNOW! I DIDN'T DO IT!" I cut him off by screaming. "well then I believe we're done here." The officer stood up and just then some sort of alarm went off. A second officer entered the room and looked to my interrogator. "Chief! It's the bank, its being hit!" he reported. The Chief's face immediately became angered because of the interruption. "Damnit, again!? He spat. He then looked at me realizing that I wouldn't go anywhere due to me being cuffed to the nailed down table, and then preceded with the second officer out of the room to take the call, leaving me all alone in the small room all cozy and snug to the wooden table and unbelievable uncomfortable chair.

"This is fucking stupid." I said to myself beginning to accept what was going to happen. All in a few hours my life had been turned into a disaster. I had just decided to take a nap in the Rust-Bucket only to be woken up a few hours later by a screech made by Gwen when she discovered what had happened to Grandpa Max. He was still alive but unconscious. We called the police immediately and after they arrived and did some searching for evidence for a few hours, they arrested me. At least grandpa was ok. He was rushed to a hospital and the doctors said that he was in a coma but he would wake up eventually.

No. I refuse to accept this! I will find the guy who did this and get justice! I will prove my innocents! I began to pull at the handcuffs with all of my strength, ignoring the pain that it brought. I kept pulling even though there was no way my whole hand in one piece would fit through the cuffs. I kept pulling and pulling and pulling refusing to give up until- SNAP. I screamed bloody murder after I accomplished my goal. I had seen people do it in movies but I never thought It would work in real life. I had been able to get out of the cuffs by dislocating my thumb. If only my stupid watch would work but the Omnitrix wouldn't give me any signal of cooperation. I held my hand feeling it throb in my other hand looking for a way out. I couldn't take to door, there had to be at least a few officers still at the station while the others were on call. There! The window! HA, the idiot who built this interrogation room with a wall that is so easily breach-able would lose his job after this. I guess it was a small town that hardly ever had any crime going on, but still a poor excuse.

Gathering all the strength I had left in my other hand I prepared myself for the pain my next actions would bring. I smashed open the window with my fist, leaving it bleeding pretty badly and feeling shattered. "Great…"I thought, "two useless hands now." But my efforts were not in vain. The window was smashed open just enough for me to crawl through. And so I did falling into a bush and immediately bolting into the forest nearby. Desperate to get as far away as possible, I failed to notice that the forest was actually on an very steep hill. I feel, hitting my left shoulder on a tree trunk but that didn't stop my decent. I hit countless stray branches, two more tree trunks, and at least five rocks until I stopped.

This was bad. I felt myself drifting in and out or consciousness for minutes before I knew I couldn't stay laying on the ground. I sat up, noticing my bleeding fist was almost covered in my own blood and it wasn't going to stop. I took off my jacket and used it as a bandage the best I could just to try and stop the bleeding. The former green turning red ever so slowly, it would stop the bleeding for now. But I needed help. There was nobody I could trust though. I couldn't go into town; I'm a wanted man, a criminal. Maybe I could turn into Big Chill and fly a few towns over and seek help there? I looked at the Omnitrix only to be denied my idea. It didn't even give me a buzz, as if it had completely died and was just a weird looking wristband. So I just stood up, choose a direction that looked good, and walked its lonely path hoping to find something that could help me.

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I walked for hours in the dark. It was pitch black but I was out here for so long my eyes had adapted to even be able to see ever so slightly that I wouldn't trip over a fallen tree branch. Or a rock. So many rocks. I must have passed hundreds of large rocks by now. "Really? Rocks? You're so helpless your thinking about how many rocks you've passed, Ben?" I questioned myself. Wait, rocks…rocks. I gasped. I remembered something from a long time ago.

It must have been ten years ago, when Charmcaster had pretended to be good. When nobody was looking she handed my something. It was a rock. "Why would you give me a rock?" I asked her as if she were crazy. "It's not just any rock Ben, its hexed. If you ever need to find me, it will always lead you right to me. No matter where you are or how far away you are." Then I knew she was crazy but decided to keep it anyway because it looked cool, with the glowing purple that was emitting from it. I always kept it on me since just in case …well…and at the time I had a small crush on her. I checked my pocket and sure enough it was there. The same small grey and purple rock that I received about 10 years ago.

But would Charmcaster really help me? We were enemies although it's been some time since she's made an appearance at least three years. She hated me…no she hated Gwen. I'm sure she didn't like me but the only one she seemed to hate was Gwen because of their rivalry. Maybe she would help me. At this point id take help from even worse enemies of mine. What was the worst that would happen anyway? I could just say that I was returning the rock if things went south. "Fuck it" I said before tossing the small rock onto the ground. It sat there and I watched in anticipation for minutes before I realized nothing was going to happen. "Damn it! That crazy witch was just messing with me all this time!" I yelled at myself. I almost didn't notice the other rocks being pulled to the one I had thrown onto the ground in my little fit of anger. It was only until the golem had come to life that I jumped at its formation. It looked at me and then started to run. I assume to Charmcaster, but just like that it took off. With nothing else to loose, I decided to follow it. Hours seemed to pass as I followed it. This thing could be leading me on an endless journey and I'd just follow it until my legs gave up. However because it was a fraction of my size, it was much slower at its top speed than me, in fact while it seemed to be sprinting, I was merely speed walking.

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Just as I was about to pass out from exhaustion, the small golem crumbled into the small rock it was just hours ago. I picked it up as I looked in front of me. A mansion stood a few meters from me guarded by two much larger golems. The two just looked at me doing nothing waiting for my next action. "Take me to her." I asked them one of the golems moved inside of the mansion expecting me to follow and so I did. I walked in silence trying to think how this was going to happen. I didn't get much time before we reached her.

There she was. Sitting on what had appeared to be some sort of throne tossing a few rocks around in her hand before looking up to see me in all my glory of multiple bruises, cuts, a dislocated thumb, a bleeding fist, and probably a concussion of some sorts. My clothes were ripped and dirty from when I fell down the hillside. "Well, well, if it isn't Ben Tennyson. You don't look so good." Charmcaster greeted me. She stood up when I didn't give a response. She was wearing the same dark purple dress with pink scarf tied around her waist she wore last time I encountered her. "I won't humiliate you any further by your appearance. Ill even just cut to the chase. What are you doing here Tennyson?" she asked me. I swallowed any pride I had left and told her. "I need your help." Just to show how desperate I was, I got down on my knees. "My help? Don't you have your cousin and friend for that?" she questioned, clearly amused by my request. "I have no one to turn to… please. I've been framed and they won't believe me." I said the truth. "Oh my," she almost seemed to be having fun with this conversation and seeing be begging for her help, "who knew that little brat Gwen would turn on a friend or even family."Making it clear just how much she hated Gwen. "Why should I trust you, Ben? After all these years of us fighting isn't helping you any." She stated. "Because I've been framed, hurt, betrayed by my own family! I have no one to turn to... please!" I shot back. She began to walk towards me until she reached her destination. She motioned for me to stand as she began to walk I circles around me like a shark. She inspected me from every angle from head to toe. "Well clearly you're pretty desperate. And you look like you fell off of a mountain." She observed. "I did." I confirmed. "You know Ben, I never actually hated _you_. Just that damn cousin of yours." She stopped directly in front of me, looking at me dead in the eyes. "Fine" she finally concluded. Before I could do anything, she lifted my chin with her fingers and then kissed me. It didn't last long, not more than a second, but she kissed me. After she broke it, I was about to yell at her, but I was losing vision and I just couldn't stand anymore. I collapsed, slowly drifting out of consciousness, my fate in the hands of an old enemy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys-**

First off, I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update the story :( I guess it's only been about a week, but I've had most the story ready for a while, but haven't been able the get the last bit in. I've been really busy lately and just haven't had the time to work on it. But on a more positive note, thank you all for the reviews that you left me asking to continue and how much you like it. It really meant a lot to me since I'm new to writing. I wasn't so sure that I should continue, but after I saw every favorite, follow, and review from the one short chapter, I made sure to keep it keep writing. Also, I want to try to make the chapters longer than the first one, it just felt really short when I reread it. So here is the second chapter and please enjoy.

– _The Dark Arrow_

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-~Chapter 2~-

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"Uuugh… I can't…see…too bright…" was the first thing I said when I woke up. All I could see was a bright white light. I felt around and discovered that I was lying down on my back on some sort of bed. I turned onto my stomach so I wouldn't be so blind by this source of light. The bright light went away, but only to be replaced by a pounding headache. I wish I had just kept the annoying light; at least it didn't cause me pain. Slowly my vision came back to me. I was correct when I felt I was lying on a bed. But whose bed was this? I've never been in this room before. Was I in a hospital? All I remember was running in to a forest and then asking Charmcaster for help. Was I still in the mansion? I went to stand but my headache disagreed. "Guess I'll be staying here for a while." I thought to myself. I closed my eyes to hopefully help my headache pass. "I must still be in the mansion, if Charmcaster brought me to a hospital, then I would be in jail right not." I assumed. Then more thoughts started to race in my mind. "Why did she kiss me? Was it some sort of spell? What did she do when I was unconscious?" I was probably just too out of it, and must having some sort of hallucination and had just passed out on my own. I must have distracted myself for at least an hour before my headache passed. I tried once more to sit up, successfully this time. I noticed something move before it left the room, but I'm sure it was just a small golem that went to fetch Charmcaster. After sitting for a while I felt terrible. I felt so weak that I didn't even know if I could stand. So I continued to sit and wait for Charmcaster's arrival.

I looked around at the room. I was very clean, almost completely empty actually. I discovered that the light that caused me to be unable to see was a window shining sunlight in through the crystal clear glass. The sun was up…what time was it? How long was I out for? Even more questions were remaining unanswered. I began to hear footstep approaching, like a women in heels from what I could imagine. I guessed exactly who it was that was on their way to see me. It must be her; Charmcaster doesn't really have any partner in crime after her uncle was killed. I was right when I guessed it was her, when she appeared in the doorway. "Good morning, Ben." She said as she entered the room, taking a seat in a chair next to the bed. "Where am I?" I asked. "Same place you were when you past out." She answered. "How long was I out for?" was my next question. "Only a day." She answered. I could only take her word for it. I could have been in a coma for a years and I wouldn't know. "What happened?" I continued to ask her. She sighed, beginning to feel a bit annoyed. "You came to me looking like you had just tried to fight a tornado and got your ass kicked." She stated before continuing, "I decided to help you, but of course, I want something out of it. While you were sleeping I healed you to the best of my ability. You had a few small glass shards stuck in your left fist, a broken rib, and a dislocated thumb. Not to mention, probably a concussion." She added. "What the hell happened to you?" was asked. I decided to tell her the truth. "I was framed for trying to kill my grandpa. Apparently the evidence had my finger prints all over it. But I could never do it. I was asleep when it happened!" she looked at me like I was crazy. "And they think that Ben Tennyson, the guy who saved the world multiple times, would kill his own family?" Finally, someone who believes me. "That's what I'm saying." "And now you want to find the guy who did this and bring him to justice…or…" she looked at me with a devilish smile. "Or what?" I demanded to know. "Or vengeance for hurting someone you love. I know which one _I_ would choose." She finished. "Yeah, well I'm not a criminal." I said to make it clear which of the two options I would choose. "Maybe so, but the rest of the world sees you as one." She informed me. I looked at her as she confirmed what I had thought. "So now I'm a one of the criminals that I would used to hunt." "For now yes, but when we find the guy, you may have a shot at redemption." She tried to cheer me up. Why was she being so kind to me? "What do you mean 'we'?" I asked her. She looked at me again dead in the eye. It was like I could see the clearest ocean in the world in her eyes, reminding me of why I had a crush on her in my past years. But after learning that she was a criminal I knew that it would never be possible for us to ever end up together. "Well you asked for my help, didn't you? I intend to give it to you." She sounded like she was entitled to help me, like she wanted to. This was weird, why does she continue to be nice to me as if we had been friends for years? "Why are me being so nice to me? We would consider each other enemies just days ago?" I demanded. Charmcaster looked away and sighed before admitting her answer. "Ben, do you remember when I gave you that rock that I told you would lead to me no matter where you were?" she began. "Well… I gave it to you in case a day like this ever happened. A day where if you had no one to run to, you could run to me."

I swear I saw her blush when she turned away. She got up and began to leave but before she did, he grabbed something that one of the golems was holding up to her. "Oh yeah, and uh…this fell off your wrist…I think it's broken." She then tossed it to me. It was of course the only thing I ever kept on my wrist, even against my will. The Omnitrix. I immediately looked up at my wrist, only to discover that she had been right. My eyes widened. "How?" was the only thing I could have thought. I tried to put it back on but it just fell right back off. I was in near shock, this had never happened before. I tapped it and messed with it trying to get some sort of response from it, but it has just as dead as it was after I escaped the police station. "Get some rest, Ben" Charmcaster said before leaving, "Don't get too worked up, I'm sure we can fix it somehow. I'll come back and check on you again later." She made it sound like this was just some ordinary watch. This was the Omnitrix for fuck sake! It doesn't just "fall off" If her point of giving me the Omnitrix was to distract me of what she had said about why she was helping me; it worked.

I tried for hours to reattach the Omnitrix to me wrist, but to no success. Eventually giving up, I set it aside on top of a nightstand next to my bed. I just lied in the bed trying to take in what my life had become in a matter of days. I literally went from hero to zero. No, not even zero, the world saw me as a criminal now. Did I try to murder grandpa? Did something like a new alien take over me while I slept and do it? Maybe this was all just a bad dream. Maybe I just need to wake up, and this will all be over and I can go back to living my life as a hero. It was worth a try.

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-Charmcaster's perspective-

He's here. He finally came. After all these years and all the waiting, Ben's finally come to me. Since the first time I met him, I knew that we were meant to be together. But Uncle Hex would have skinned me alive if he knew that I had fallen for an enemy, so I had to play the villain all these years. If it weren't for my power crazed uncle, I could have been with Ben much sooner. But no, I had to be placed as one of his enemies. An enemy that he could never be in love with. My hopes of us were shattered into a thousand pieces after our first encounter. But pieces are still pieces of something that can be rebuilt. Something that I've wanted to show him since that day we met. I would have told him sooner, tried to apologize, show him that I could change after my damn uncle was out of the picture. But of course not, his ass of a cousin had to pick up my spell book and just happen to be a natural at magic. Beginner's luck was the only thing that was able to allow her to perform the spells so perfectly. If only Ben knew that I was clearly the superior sorceress, I could have easily impressed him and been at his side instead of his Gwen. And even worse she held a grudge against me, feeding even more hatred towards me, smashing my fantasy with a sledgehammer repeatedly in front of me. I hate her with every drop of blood in my body. I long for the day I find a spell to sentence and damn her to the deepest hell. She's the reason I have suffered all this time, my arch-nemesis. Maybe that's just the villain in me (that she made me to be) speaking. But, there was nothing I could do other than play for the long run. That was the ONLY chance I would ever get to have Ben as my lover. So I played along, becoming the criminal that I had to be. I made my move when I pretended to be all friendly with them. Besides Gwen being there, those were some of the best days of my life. I got to be so close to Ben, and he considered me a friend for the short time we were allies. Before I had to terminate the beloved closeness I had with Ben, I gave him the golem. Being sure not to tell him what for, I left him in confusion, knowing he would keep it. I could only hope that one day he would use it. A day so horrible to him that he would have nowhere to run but to me.

It sounds terrible, obsessive, and creepy; but it's the only way. I didn't want it to be like this. I don't want to wish for his life to suddenly turn against him, his friends becoming enemies. But this is all Gwen's fault. Ben and I were meant to be together, the most powerful warrior and the most powerful sorceress. We could have the world at our feet; although Ben wouldn't want it that way, just knowing we could is all I need. If Gwen had just kept her fucking nose out of my spell book, none of this would have had to happen. We could have all been happy. If you think about it, Gwen is really the villain.

So here it finally came, almost ten years since I gave him the golem in the form of a rock. To think that I've waited about ten years for one day. One day where Ben would come to me for my help to bring back the world he knew. Only what he didn't know is that along with my help, he would also receive my love. And with no one else to turn to in the world, he would grow to love me as well.

But I can't just drop the bomb on him. I have to be slow and careful. Otherwise who knows what he might think or do. So when he came into my home all beaten up I could only act as if I was the criminal he thought of me as. He could have no idea how much I wanted to tackle, hug, and kiss him on the spot and nurture him back to health. However, this didn't mean that I couldn't be seductive and have a little fun.

I played with him for a little making him explain why he was here and what had happened to him. Of course I knew just about what had happened and how he got here. Being the villain did have its perks. I could hear him beg for my help, and that I was the only one he could turn to. He had my help since he walked in from my doors, but just hearing him say that he needed me was music to my ears. When I was done I made him look directly into my eyes so he could see them and I could see his emerald colored eyes. He unknowingly stared into the eyes of his future lover, before I casted a spell to put him to sleep. I kissed him and the spell took its course. He shouldn't remember the kiss too well when he wakes up. It should make most of his memory foggy enough to make him think that he was just imagining things.

When I was sure he was out cold, I picked him up had carried him to the guest room. As soon as my uncle was killed, I made plans for this room to be his until he would move into mine. This room was always unused so I did have to clean it out or anything for Ben's long awaited arrival. I set him down on the bed and went to work right away, taking care of his bleeding hand first. I used a spell to remove the glass that was still stuck in his fist without taking the risk of removing them manually. Something that I'm sure Gwen didn't know how to do was use magic in ways like this. The next thing that I saw was his other hand. His thumb was out of place. I sighed hating having to do this by hand. Unfortunately magic wouldn't be able to do anything as specific as fix a thumb into normal position. At least Ben wasn't conscious while this had to happen. This would cause just as much pain as it took to get it dislocated in the first place. I closed my eyes and did it fast as if it was me that would be in pain. After that I used my magic to scan if anything else were wrong with him besides the multiple cuts and bruises on him. I found he had a broken rib. There was nothing I could do heal this besides time and making sure he got proper rest. Trying to fix the rib would be too complicated to try to do with magic, and be a large risk I was not willing to take. It would have to heal naturally along with the cuts he had.

I just wish there was more I could do to help him. I looked at him again now that I did all that I could to help heal him. He looked so peaceful sleeping, especially after he had just barely been able to walk into my home. Beginning to get tired myself, I got up and began to leave for my own room. That was until; I heard something clatter onto the ground. I looked behind me to see the famous Omnitrix had fallen off his wrist. I looked at it in disbelief. Countless people have tried to get the watch to come off his wrist forcefully, but now it just falls off on its own doing. I picked it up remembering how I had tried to steal it before in the past. I had no desire for it now, knowing that if I was in a relationship with the man who it belonged to, it would never be used against me.

I brought it with me so that if he found it himself, he wouldn't freak out and cause further damage to his body by accident. Maybe if I give it to him, he will know that I really do want to help him. It would prove that I didn't want the Omnitrix from him. This could only work in my favor, so I picked it up and smiled to myself. Things are just going so perfectly. I just laughed at how things seemed to finally start to fall into place.

I walked down the hall to my own room and began to get ready for bed. In the morning I would check on Ben. He would be curious about what had happened tonight. I imagined all the questions he would probably ask me, and answered them to myself until I began to fall asleep.

I woke up early. Remembering my dream I had, I smiled. It wasn't much of a dream but to me it was paradise. It had just been Me and Ben laying together with him stroking my hair, telling me that he loved me and complimenting me. It wasn't something most people would call a good dream, but to me nothing could have been better. I got dressed and went to check on Ben. I peeked into his room, cracking the door no more than an inch open. He was still asleep. Good. He needed his rest after last night. I walked back down hall and went to the kitchen, made breakfast, and ate it. I turned on the news as I ate. "-as the famous Ben Tennyson that was once recognized as a hero has been reported to be missing. Ben was supposed to be locked in a police station last night after being confirmed that he tried to murder his own grandfather. The police are still searching for the criminal. If anyone knows the location of Ben, please contact the authoritie-" I changed the channel hoping to find some other news. No luck. It seemed that every station was reporting only on Ben and his escape from the police. I sighed and just turned off the TV. I wasn't one for watching shows anyway. Just then the small golem I created to let me know if Ben were to awaken rushed towards me. I followed it to his room and Ben was awake.

* * *

-After the conversation from Ben's perspective-

"God, I just couldn't keep it together, could I?" I grunted at myself as I walked further back down the hallway. When Ben asked me why I was being nice to him, I couldn't help but blush. I don't think he saw it…I really, really hope he didn't see it. I practiced for hours answering every question he would ask me without showing any sign of my affection for him, but whenever I talk to him none of it pays off.

I decided to calm down and meditate. I don't do it often but when I do it's for a good reason. So I sat for what felt like minutes in the silence. It was nice. Nothing bothering me, like the world around me only exists when I choose to let it. But my focus was broken by a voice that I recognized right away. "Charmcaster?" I opened my eyes to see Ben in front of me. "Yes?" "I didn't know that you meditated. I've seen Gwen do it every now and then but I thought she was just doing it to ignore me." He commented. "It helps focus the mind. Essential for using magic. Is there something you needed?" I informed it not meaning to sound annoyed. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. I'm just really hungry. Do you have anything? He sounded almost sad when he asked me. My eyes went wide. Oh my god, I forgot to feed him. He was injured badly and I forgot to make sure he got the proper nutrients to heal. "Are you ok?" he asked me when he saw my reaction. "Uh, yeah, I just didn't realize how much time passed while I was meditating." I lied. I guess I wasn't completely lying, it was morning when I started and now it's almost starting to get dark out. "How about some dinner?" he offered me. "It's a little early but sure." I wasn't really used to eating this early but Ben's reputation to have a bottomless stomach must have been true.

He picked up his torn up jacket, looked at it and then put it on anyways. He started to walk towards the door before I stopped him. "What do you think you're doing?" I said as I stepped in front of him. "Uh, duh, going to go get some Mr. Smoothie." He looked at me like I'm insane. I crossed my arms to stand my ground "Are you crazy?! Ben you're wanted dead or alive! The entire WORLD sees you as a criminal now. If you go out into the world just days after your escape people will recognize you in seconds and call the cops on you." His face softened as he remembered what his life had become. "And besides, how would you even get there and back? You have no car, no Omnitrix, and I doubt you'd walk all the way there just for a cheeseburger." He took off his jacket to admit defeat. "Then how are we going to eat?" he asked me. I smiled because I'm not a bad cook and this might be a chanced to impress him. "I'll make some chicken, it will take a little while, but you'll like it."

After the chicken was done cooking, I gave him the plate and looked at him as he inspected it. "I didn't poison it you know." I joked. "I doubt you would, if you wanted to kill me you would have done it by now. I've just never smelled anything so good before." He complimented. I smiled as I accomplished my objective. We ate in silence for a while before he spoke up. "So am I just going to be stuck inside until we find the guy who did this to me?" he sounded slightly sad. "Well, just until we alter your appearance enough and find you some new clothes. It should only take a month and I have a few spells that could help." I apparently struck some small nerve. "You want to change the way I look!?" he accused me. I looked up to meet him eye to eye. "Well it's either that or wear a mask everywhere you go." I almost laughed. Again he admitted defeat by slumping in his chair. "You knew this wasn't going to be easy." I reminded him. "I know, I know" Ben sounded almost like a child complaining.

* * *

-Ben's Perspective-

After dinner, Charmcaster told me to meet her outside behind the house. She said she had something to show me. I washed my hands and then proceeded outside. There stood the dark sorceress waiting on me. I don't know why but I swear she gets more attractive every time I see her. I pushed these thoughts to the back of my head as soon as I got close to her. "So what did you want to show me?" I asked. "Well, first this." She grabbed my hand and before I could pull it back from the pain, she muttered something, most likely a spell. When I pulled my hand out I looked at my burning hand. On the back of it was a symbol, almost like a tattoo of a symbol similar to the Omnitrix, but only outlined. "AHH! What the fuck!?" I yelled at her. "Sorry but if I had told you, you wouldn't have let me do it without you complaining." She didn't sound very sorry as much as excited. "What the fuck is this thing!?" I demanded. "Calm down it's a spell that I've been working on for years. It's like an Omnitrix that's WAYYY downgraded." She explained. "What do you mean?" I had no idea what she was talking about. She continued, "When I was trying to steal the Omnitrix years ago, I gave up, seeing how I couldn't take it off your wrist. But that didn't stop me. I searched and did research for years before I could cast this spell. Essentially what it does is allow you to access your past potential and use it in the present. The only problem was that I never had the Omnitrix, so I couldn't access its powers. But since you were the owner of the Omnitrix, It should give you some of its strength but very limited."

"So you're telling me that I can still go alien!" I can't believe this. I still have powers! "No, you can't go alien. You just have some of their powers. Only the ones that your current form could handle though. Nothing like flying or producing that disgusting slime like that one alien of yours." She corrected me.

This was still the best news I've had since I was exiled. "You mean Stink-fly. So what can I do?" I asked. "I don't know you find out" She laughed at my excitement, "Just try doing what you would if you were that alien." I did as she said and tried to turn invisible like Big Chill could. I didn't feel anything but Charmcaster was looking around like I had disappeared. "Ben, where'd you go?" she asked. I couldn't believe it, it actually worked. I turned visible again and laughed when she finally found me again. "I thought this would cheer you up" she said. "Well it worked. I can't believe it, thank you!" I really meant it; I thought my days of being a hero where over before she did this. Then she did something that would change my life forever. "Well there's something else." She stated quickly before she pulled me to her. "I love you." She said before she kissed me. I was too surprised to do anything at first, but I slowly recovered and decided in a split second not to fight back. I kissed her back.

* * *

 **So what do you guys think? Ben and Charmcaster's relationship should start next chapter. I didn't want Ben to have the use of his Omnitrix in this part of the story just because if he used it in public, it would give away who he was, so I came up with this after some thinking. I hope it isn't too weird and you understand how it works. If you don't, please let me know in a review and I will try to explain it better next chapter. Your guy's reviews are what help me make the story, so if you don't like the way something is going in the story leave a review and I will try to adjust anything that isn't too major, but some things are set in stone for the story. As always, please review and I'll see you next in the next update.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Hope

**Hey guys,**

 **So I told you I wouldn't abandon the Fic, and I live to my promises. It's been a long wait, and I wanted to put out the next chapter just as much as you guys wanted to read it. And believe me, you guys REALLY wanted to read it. Also I've had to change a few things from the little preview of what I left for you while I put on the delay. I've received so much support and praise from you even when I had to delay this update for WAY too long. I didn't plan on delaying it this much, but I had to take time to decide where exactly I want this story to go. When I first started I just kinda decided to wing it and see how you guys would respond. But now I think that I know where to take it and I can continue to keep typing away. Without further a due, enjoy the new, long expected chapter. :D**

 **-Your thankful author – _The Dark Arrow_**

* * *

-~Chapter 3~-

 _Hope_

* * *

-Charmcaster's perspective-

To hell with being slow and carful with Ben. "Well there's something else." I pulled him just inches from me. This was it. It's all on the line, now or never. "I love you." I said quickly before closing the distance between us. I kissed him

-Minutes before-

He seemed to be recovered enough to be able to handle the spell. I worked for years to perfect this spell. I traveled to the farthest lands to find all of the pieces and necessary scripture to be able to conjure this spell. I remember that when I finally had it perfected I tried it on myself, only to learn that it would only work on past potential strength. Alas, all my work and research had been for nothing. I never had the Omnitrix in my possession so I could not have its power. But with Ben being the owner of the watch, there would be no doubt that it would restore his former powers.

This was the perfect thing I could use to set the mood for when I tell him. If he were happy, maybe he would be more inclined to say yes. I need everything I can to get Ben to love me. But I'm just too tired of waiting, and now that Ben's finally right in front of me, I can't wait any longer.

"Ben I have something to show you. It's behind the house, in the backyard." I told him. He gave me a questioning look before saying ok. I waited not too long before he arrived. He looked around not seeing much. "What is it? Did you just want to show me some old training dummies that you have?" he noted my old equipment for when I try out new spells and other magic. I hardly used them anymore but I'm sure that Ben will need them if he's going to learn how to use and control the power that I'm about to restore to him.

"No actually it's something else. I think you'll like it." I told him. "Alright well what did you want to show me?" he asked. "Well first this." I grabbed his wrist before he could react to my quick statement. I recited the spell that would grant him his past power, as a symbol outlining the Omnitrix started to burn into his skin. It would hurt but no more than a few seconds.

At first he was mad, or more annoyed by the sudden pain and probably surprised by the new symbol engraved onto his hand. After I explained he looked truly happy, as if he were given a puppy on Christmas. His face lit up with joy, and I knew that I had accomplished my goal first goal. Now onto the main mission of tonight.

I needed this. And when I saw that I made Ben truly happy, I couldn't contain myself. Him being happy makes me happy… God, when was the last time I was happy? It's been years since I truly found joy. With Ben at my side, I could be happy for the rest of my life. But I'll never have that if I don't try, so it all or nothing right now, no more waiting; I've done enough of that.

Once he was done testing out his newfound power, I decided it was time. "Ben, there's something else." Suddenly everything slowed down. I swear I could hear my own heat beat from within my chest. He turned his head to look at me. When he did it felt like something was trying to hold me back from saying it. I tried to form words but nothing came out. The only thing audible was a whisper just loud enough to hear above the crickets. "I love you." Whatever was keeping me from telling him, whether it be anxiousness or some kind of curse would have to try a lot harder than that to prevent me from confessing to Ben.

Before he could even show a reaction I pulled him in. I did not let go. I sealed our lips together and begged for entrance. He didn't do anything though, as if he was literally stunned. After waiting for him to pull away and look at me in disgust, it was my turn to be shocked.

Ben wrapped his arms around me and began to kiss me back. It was the most passionate thing I have ever felt in my entire existence. Too much was happening for me to process. Did he love me back? Or was he just kissing me because he felt like he had to? Too many questions screeched in my head, but none of them mattered at this moment; Ben was kissing me, and that's all that mattered.

I wanted more. So much more. Fantasies drifted through my already clustered thoughts. But they were all silenced in an instant as Ben broke the kiss. Still holding me in his arms, he stared at me. His mouth was slightly agape but his face near emotionless.

I had to speak up and accept reality. As much as I wanted to think otherwise, Ben could never love me; it was practically set in stone. "I… I'm sorry." I whispered softly before I mournfully broke away from him.

I turned and started to quickly return to my bed, come to reality about what I had just done, and morn until faded from this world. As I reached for the door handle, a firm and callused hand caught my wrist.

Ben stared at me, not saying anything. The look on his face contradicting as if he wanted to say a thousand things, but didn't know how. His emotion not changing from its previous state.

After what felt like decades, he slowly released my hand. I had to get away from this situation before it got worse. I resumed my way back inside, to be greeted by the comforting darkness.

The same darkness where I had plotted my life with Ben. The same darkness where I hid my tears, during my time with uncle Hex. And now it's the same old darkness that I will live the rest of my life in.

I opened the door to my chambers.

How could I be so foolish, so fucking stupid, that I blew the whole time I waited in one move. I thought this and similar things for the next few hours until it started to rain. Just fucking great, that's what I needed to cheer me up, some fucking rain.

Slowly, I lost my grip on my anger and sorrow and drifted into peaceful sleep.

* * *

-Ben's POV-

Ben was still trying to piece together what had exactly just happened. It had been about an hour since the climax of the night had taken place, and he was still figuring it out as he sat on the outdoor steps.

So much had happened all so fast, he could hardly comprehend it without getting lost.

First, she restored part of his powers, then she kissed him, and then the part that shocked him most was that he actually kissed her back.

So many emotions ran through him he didn't know which one to pick. Happy, confusion, bliss, concern, passion, longing, regret… the list goes on and on.

And then, of course, the never ending questions once AGAIN returning to his racing mind. Did she always feel this way, or maybe she just got caught in the moment. Why was she so sheepish? Just nights ago she was the cocky, confident, and powerful sorceress who could take anything she wanted from him and laugh as she did. But now she acted like a schoolgirl embarrassing herself in front of her first crush.

The biggest question still remained. Why did he kiss her back? He could have just backed away or pushed her off. But he didn't. When he was kissing her, he felt something he needed a whole fucking lot of: hope. Perhaps that's why he accepted her act.

Before he could continue his evaluation of his thoughts, he felt a drop of rain. And then another. Before it started pouring, he made his way inside and to the room he had been given.

All of the twists of the day were beginning to take their toll on Ben's focus and he became unable to keep up with his imagination. He let the comforting tide of sleep consume him.

* * *

-Kevin's POV-

Kevin was just finishing up help detect any trace of Ben since his disappearance.

Hours ago he got the call from Gwen that Ben had been reported as missing and had escaped from custody. He made his way from his beloved muscle car to the station.

There wasn't any evidence of where Ben had made his way to after the woods, which didn't surprise Kevin. Ben was clever when he needed to be.

What did surprise Kevin was the trick Ben used to escape the handcuffs. It takes some balls to be able to bring yourself to break your thumbs. It hurts like hell and was not a fast healing process. Kevin knew from experience.

Ben's betrayal had surprised him just as much as anyone else. But what he didn't feel was different, he didn't feel bad.

Not that he was happy Ben was on the 'Shoot to kill' list, but he wasn't necessarily sad. Kevin secretly held a grudge against Ben from way back. The two often butt heads and fought, and Kevin did not forget.

Ben was also ALWAYS tagging along with him and Gwen. They could never get any time alone, just together. Gwen never seemed to mind but she was also his cousin. She would always try to include him whenever he would suggest going out.

"You wanna get some Mr. Smoothie?"

"Sure I'll call Ben so he can meet us there."

This is about how it went almost every time. Of course he had the romantic expensive dates with her but those were not his favorite. He wanted to spend some time ALONE with his girlfriend casually. Maybe now he could finally do that.

However, he knew that Gwen was in tears about the situation. He would gladly comfort her and be there for her to lean on, without her annoying, third wheel cousin. And with her Grandpa in the hospital, still recovering he would be one of very few she could cry on.

Kevin had also had mentally adopted Max Tennyson as his own grandfather, the closest thing to real family he ever felt. So when the time came Kevin would gladly bring justice to the criminal who hurt his family. Even if it was Ben.

He would contact plumbers to try to track down Ben's location. He would stock up on tech and weapons that would help them in the fight. He would work three times as hard to become stronger. After all they were a man down with a new enemy, most likely their strongest enemy as well.

But no one had any clue where Ben went after he covered his trail entering the forest. All the police could recognize was that he broke through the window, fell into a bush, and entered the forest. Not even the hounds could pick up his trail, since he could have turn into an alien to escape after the forest.

For all they knew Ben could even be dead. Or he could be half way across the world by now. Either way Ben was long gone, without any lead to where he is- or was.

And with Ben gone, Kevin would be the team's new leader. That's if it was really even a team anymore, more like a duo for now. They might have to pick up a new plumber if things really got tough. They had to be ready for anything, and until Ben decided to show himself, they had other criminals to worry about.

This is exactly what Kevin was going to go see for himself. He started his car and began his way to the nearest Plumber base. Besides Ben's surprise attack, the weak had been uncomfortably calm. No villain or alien attacks had taken place, and things were getting eerie.

The Plumbers always kept up-to-date files on every criminal that had ever been a serious threat to earth. This includes the criminals that had the least and most recent attacks. Ben would used to try and use this information to try to predict who would attack next and try to prepare for it. If Kevin was going to take the reins on leading team, he had to take charge like Ben used to.

After some time, Kevin finally arrived. He verified showed the guard his Plumber I.D. and continued inside. The first person he saw was Pierce.

 **[-~Side Note~- Pierce will still be alive during the time this story takes place]**

Pierce made his way to intercept Kevin and did so. "How do you plan on handling this?" Pierce more demanded than asked.

"So you've already heard the news then, I assume." Kevin knew exactly what Pierce was referring to.

"Of course I've heard! Every fucking plumber in the galaxy has heard!" Pierce exclaimed as Kevin looked around as he continued walking down the hall to see that it wasn't only Pierce waiting on Kevin to arrive. Just about everyone was looking at him as if they expected him to bring news they didn't know.

When Kevin gave no response, Pierce continued, "When someone with the strength of Ben turns on the Plumbers, it kinda shoots off red flags in just about every fucking way you look!" Kevin still remained silent as they walked.

"Even when a rookie turns, they're high priority to be brought down. They know how we work, how we operate, who's in charge, all our files on missions, members, and targets. And this isn't some rookie we're talking about. This is Ben, the guy who was right underneath our magister and knows just as much as we do, if not more about how the Plumbers are going to try to take him down."

Still silence from Kevin

"Not to mention, our magister is in a coma! Everyone is either looking at me or you to take the lead on how to operate. And knowing how you react to things, I need to know if you're even on our side." Pierce demanded, now stepping in front of Kevin to further imply his urgency for a response.

It was unlike Pierce to be so stressed over a situation like this. He normally kept his cool and a leveled head at just about everything that happened to him. They were almost acting as if they switched mindsets. But given how so much had happened and now Pierce was suddenly the one to look to for guidance, Kevin could understand his tension.

Finally Kevin gave him what he wanted. "Cool your jets, Whiskers; I'm not turning tail like Ben." Peirce glared him down when he heard Kevin's nickname for him.

"As for Ben, we can't do much until He decides to show himself to the world again. We just have to keep all eyes open for any signs of him, or until we get a lead. Until then we just operate as normal I guess."

Kevin led them into a room with a computer already running.

"What the fuck do you mean 'you guess'?" Pierce harshly questioned.

"I have just as much as an idea as you do on how to lead the Plumbers, and I have no desire the lead them. So looks like the throne is all yours, congrats." Kevin said the last part sarcastically.

Pierce had enough of Kevin's ignorance and marched out, muttering curses as he went.

Kevin brought up a list of names and dates on some of the criminal that were expected to make a move soon, and read it way more thoroughly than he would have just days ago.

The page read-

 **TODAY'S DATE:** **OCT. 5** **TH** **2014**

 **Expected criminals to attack include but are not limited to:**

 **Forever Knights – last attack on: July, 14** **th** **2014**

 **Dr. Aloysius James Animo – last attack on: June, 2** **nd** **2014**

 **Six-Six- last attack on: April, 15** **th** **2014 (note- hired merc. Expected to arrive on earth.)**

 **Seven-Seven- last attack on: April, 15** **th** **2014 (note- hired merc. Expected to arrive on earth.)**

 **Charmcaster- last attack on: Nov, 3** **rd** **2013**

Kevin was slightly relived when he saw most of the criminals were an easy job with the exception of the mercenaries. They were not easy, by any means, to deal with. What really stuck out to Kevin was Charmcaster's name. She's been quiet for about a year now, which was strangely abnormal for criminals of her type.

However, Kevin didn't think too much of it. Maybe she's just given up. Or she's been busy and has been plotting something big. Probably the latter option.

Either way, Kevin shut off the computer and started to make his way home and get some rest. It's been a long day and the future ones will be even longer.

* * *

-Pierce's POV-

"I CANNOT BELIEVE HIM!" I yelled to no one in particular as I marched down the hall. Here I am trying to just get some help or even some answers and he hardly says anything to me. I have to lead the entirety of the local Plumbers and he acts like everything is fine and nothing has happened today.

I continued my way down the hall to reach my team. They're more my family than team, but were supposed to set the example of how a team should function, when were in public.

Eventually I found them. Manny and Helen stood waiting for me to bring news. "What'd he say Pierce? Was the first thing Helen said to me. "Hardly anything at all! The world was at peace according to the way he acted!"

Helen gave me a concerned look. "Calm down man. What did he say? Is he with us?" Manny asked.

"Yeah, he's with the Plumbers still." I took a breath to try and relax myself. "He wants no part of leadership except for his own crew. Probably for the best." I continued.

"At least we won't have to fight him as well. Do we have any leads on Ben? Like his Plumber badge?" Helen always tried to see the bright side in things, even when we were kids.

"No, the local police stripped him of this badge when they took him in. We have no way of locating him at the moment. Kevin said that we would have to wait until Ben shows up again to try and find him. I hate to admit it, but he's probably right." I responded

"I don't know about Kevin, Pierce." Manny said, "They guy doesn't sound like he'll take orders from anyone now that the magister out of the fight."

"I don't know Manny; let's just hope it doesn't come to that. We really don't need any other member to go rogue at the moment." I told him

"What do you think we should Pierce? You're the leader now. What do we tell the Plumbers?

I thought for some moments before answering. "Well as of today, Ben is a priority target that needs to be detained. If we can, I want to try to help clear his name. I was never that close to Ben, but from what I do know is that he didn't seem like the kind of guy to do something like this." I said as Manny and Helen waited for a clear order.

"We will try to peacefully bring Ben in alive but if things turn south… all Plumbers have permission to open fire if Ben attacks first." I finally finished. It wasn't an easy order to give but it had to be done.

Both Helen and Manny nodded understandingly. "Also one more thing." I added, "I'm going to step up the training the Plumbers will have to go through. Ben is on a whole other level of strong, and right now I don't know if even the three of us can beat him. So that means us too… including me."

"Good idea, boss" Manny said before leaving with Helen to give the orders as my second-in-commands.

I have no idea what the future holds in store for us, but whatever it is, the Plumbers need to be ready

* * *

-Ben's POV-

I woke up late. The clock read 11:06 AM. I woke up REALLY late, I corrected my previous thought. But after last night…well I think I can let it slide. 'Oh God, last night…' I still don't know what to think about it.

I got out of bed and began to make my way to the kitchen. If I find Charmcaster, I'll let her decide whether or not to talk about it. What would I say…It didn't feel bad, but… for my entire existence she's always been my enemy. Can I even accept that?

Well she's not my enemy anymore, I suppose. Who is my enemy? My old friends? Are my old enemies still my enemies? Ughh… I haven't had a clear mind since before the incident.

I arrived to the kitchen and began to look for some cereal. No sign of Charmcaster… well that's one thing that I don't have to worry about for now. I found a box of some sort of cereal, poured some milk, and ate in silence.

It was too quiet. Like I was the only one in the house, kind of quiet. Normally Charmcaster would have made sure that I was still here, but still no sign of her after eating for about 20 minutes. Maybe she was still asleep. Or maybe she left to go do something. Either way I can't stay in here with this silence, it's going to drive me insane.

As I reached for the outside door, I saw the symbol still burned into my hand, from last night. To be honest I forgot about it. I could take this time to see what else I could do other than invisibility.

'Hmm… can I shoot lasers like Jet-Ray?' I wondered to myself. I stood there staring at a dummy, bulging my eyes for some time before I stopped realizing that if someone saw me right now, they might think I need medical attention. Guess no lasers are happening until I can get the Omnitrix back.

'Maybe I can turn my hands into razor sharp crystals like Diamond back! That would be cool.' I clenched my fists as tight as I could. No luck. But when I opened my fist, there was a small shiv-like, crystal blade in my hand.

Well its not the same, but still kinda cool. I thought about the next one. Should I even try it? What if it backfires? I couldn't decide to try to set myself aflame like I could with Swampfire or Heatblast. This could either be a disaster or the coolest thing I've been able to do with the spell.

I found a hose nearby and decided to take my chances. Multiple outcomes could happen here. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best. I concentrated for a few seconds and opened my eyes. When I did my hand was on fire… without pain. Success!

Or so I thought. After a few seconds my whole body felt like it was struck by lightning. Except lighting would have been way less painful. Like I had pinched a nerve, but worse and it didn't stop. It went on for seconds, but they were definitely the longest and worse seconds of my life.

It was only after the flame went out that the pain stopped. I lied on the ground trying to recover from the excruciating pain. The symbol on my hand is glowing a bright orange and yellow as if it were still on fire.

Then I heard the door open and someone quickly running over to me.

* * *

-Charmcaster's POV-

I was just laying in my bed thinking. I woke up hours ago but didn't get out of bed. I still couldn't believe what I did last night. I don't think I ever will. It was the best moment of my life one moment, and then the next the worst.

I continued to sulk for even longer.

"AAAAHH!"Extreme pain struck me and I yelled loud enough so the whole house could hear. Right away I knew what had happened.

Damn it! I should have told him! I couldn't do anything right, could I? I forgot to explain to Ben the consequences of his powers.

I rushed outside and found him on the ground paying the price that he didn't know about. I honestly thought that he might have left after last night. But here he was, in pain, still in my yard.

I rushed over to him and checked to see if he was still conscious. He still was because when I got to him he saw me and begged, "Help me…please!" Without hesitation I grabbed him hand. Slowly the mark began to fade from its glow and with it the pain.

He still lied on the ground panting. "What were you doing?" I asked him already knowing the answer. "I was just practicing my new abilities and I tried to make fire and it worked. But then … I felt this extreme pain and couldn't stop it."

I helped sit him up when he tried. "Ben, you can't use so many powers in such a short timeframe. It will hurt you like it just did. I guess I only explained half of the spell yesterday." I said before continuing. "The way it works is like this: Basically I am your power source. Your abilities can only happen because I give them the strength with my mana. When we're close you can use then without worry, but when we're not you're limited to very little. When we are separated you have a very small pool of mana that will drain the more and faster you use abilities."

Ben gave me a questioning look and I sighed trying to think of a way he might understand. "Imagine you're in a kiddy pool with a little kid splashing around in it and a hose. The little kid is spilling water everywhere but the pool never empties because the hose fills it back up." Ben nodded showing he understands so far. "Now imagine the hose falls out of the pool, but the kid keeps splashing. What's going to happen?"

Ben thought for a second before answering. "Well the pool would eventually empty." I nodded and said, "That's exactly what's happening here except, the water is my mana, I'm the hose, and you're the kid."

"OHHH! I get it now." He said. "But how did you know that it was empty?"

"That's another part of the spell. It punishes both the user and the source if either runs out of mana. But my mana pool has gotten so large over the years; I don't need to worry about mine. But since yours is so small it needs to be monitored carefully." I explained. Guess I missed more than I thought.

"Can it get bigger?" Ben asked. I helped him up and answered, "It can get a little bigger over time as you use abilities, but it will never be as large as mine."

"But as long as were close by I don't have to worry about It." he asked to confirm. "Now you're getting it." I said.

I helped him back inside to lie down on the couch. Hitting the bottom of your mana pool really puts strain on the body and Ben would need to rest for a bit.

On the way there Ben brought up exactly what I didn't want him to. "Hey Charmcaster… about last night…"

This was it. He was going to tell me that he didn't feel the same and confirm my dreaded thoughts.

"…It didn't feel wrong. I don't know how I feel…but it didn't feel bad."

I was yet again shocked by Ben. I thought for sure he would have rejected me. Even if he wasn't sure, this was still some of the best news I could have heard.

He reached the door and made our way to the couch so I could set him down.

"One more thing" he said before we made it our destination. "Can I ask you your real name? If it's alright with you of course…"

"My real name…?" no one's called me by my real name for years… but of course I couldn't deny him it. "My real name is Hope." I revealed to him.

He started to laugh quietly to himself when he heard it. Did I say something? What was so funny about me name? Immediately I became nervous.

"What?" I questioned him. He stopped laughing as he gave his answer. "It's nothing… it's just that before you agreed to help me and I was wandering around in the forest… I needed a whole fucking lot of hope… and here I found It." and with concluding his confession, he passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

 **I know, I know, it's kinda a corny ending to the chapter, but it sounded like a pretty good when I thought of it. Also what do you guys think of Pierce? I always like him when I watched the series and thought he was pretty cool, so I wanted to include him in the story.**

 **And let me address what some of you were expecting. I know that in the preview I left before the hiatus, It said that the relationship between Ben and Charmcaster would start in this one, but when I was thinking on what I wanted to do with the story, I really didn't want to rush it. Whenever I read other people's stories and the rush the relationship early, no matter what the fandom is, it seems to go downhill. Not always does this happen, but from the majority of what I've read it happens. And I really don't want to disappoint you guys after all the support you've given me. I promise it will happen, just give it time. I also think im going to start naming the more important chapters that serve as a important point in the story. I'll take down the "Important update" page after this chapter has been given time.**

 **You guys have given me so much support, I cant believe it. We're approaching 3,000 views in only 2 chapters and this one will hopefully bring more. You guys mean the world to me :)**

 **-** _ **The Dark Arrow**_


	4. Chapter 4- Back on the Grid

Hey guys.

Yeah I know I'm the slowest updating author out there. It's just as annoying to me as it is for you though, trust me. School has been seriously kicking my ass lately; I just haven't been able to find time to work on the story. And even then I rewrite almost half the chapter using different wording and correcting grammar when I edit. But I try to find time to work on the fic whenever I can.

As for asked questions:

ReadsWayTooMuch, definitely a good question, made me do a lot of thinking on how to answer. If magic is a genetic thing, like you said, I'm going to call it a recessive trait. Both Gwen and Ben had a possibility to receive the ability, but only one of them did (being Gwen).

* * *

-~Chapter 4~-

 _Back on the Grid_

* * *

Charmcaster's POV

"It didn't feel wrong."

The words replayed in my head at least 100 times. I… still had a chance. In fact maybe I had more than a chance. He said himself that he didn't reject me. It's the best news I've received in years. In fact, there's little else I could hear that would bring me just as much joy.

All I had to do was get Ben to return my feelings now. I could tempt him; persuade him, whatever it takes. I _will_ have him, and he will be mine forever. We, together, could have the world under our foot, begging for mercy for how cruel they treated us.

But for now I have to wait, with Ben still out cold. Not having much else to do, I decide to do some meditating and focus on controlling my flow of mana. I close my eyes and begin.

I focus on my future, and how I want it to be.

* * *

 _(In Hope's dream)_

There is a throne, high upon a mountain of ruins and others magical items, as if they were not worthy of being in the presence of the one sitting on the throne. The throne was mostly a jet black with the arms of the chair and other small parts being made of the purest silver. The edges of the black were outlined in a radiant pinkish-purple that could only be made by magic and spells.

The world surrounding the throne was not on fire, but it also wasn't as pretty. It was damaged to say the least; my doing of course. The people of earth need to know what they did to me and all that I wanted. The selfish greed to be powerful and always be in the spotlight, even if it means exploiting others in the process must be punished. And my slight damaging of this world is a wake-up call to show who really deserves the spotlight.

On the throne was me, sitting with one leg over the other with a content, but smug grin on my face as I take in the world around me that was mine.

Or should I say _ours._ Besides me, there was Ben. His attire was different. He wore black pants with a gray shirt only to be completed by a jacket much like his famous green one except different colors. This one was almost inverted. Most of the jacket was black with a secondary color of green. His hair was also different, being a much darker brown almost black.

Standing with unwavering love and loyalty, he smiled. The smile I love to see. The smile full of pureness that cannot be possessed by any other. The same smile that helped make me fall in love with him from the moment I met him.

The only difference was that it was directed at me.

Further down the mountain of magical items, was a sight much less pleasing to see. There, on her knees, was none other than Gwen Tennyson begging for mercy and forgiveness. She was a pitiful sight to see. Her old clothes were torn and in tatters. She was cut, dirty, bruised, and clearly in pain. In other words: just the way I want her to be. And as entertaining as watching her suffer is, Ben's new appearance is much, much more captivating.

I stand up off the beautiful throne and turn to him. He immediately wraps his arms around me and I quickly follow suit with my arms around and behind his neck. Slowly I close the distance between our lips and kiss him.

He doesn't hesitate and immediately returns the kiss. The sensation was pure bliss. As if I were in nirvana itself, nothing could compare to this indescribable pleasure I'm receiving. 'Pleasure…' my mind drifts to _other_ activities to do with Ben later. But for right now this kiss is all I need. Nothing could ruin this moment… except for Gwen.

I'm regretfully pulled out of the kiss when Gwen groans loudly, most likely from the sight before her than pain. Even when I've conquered the world she's still a thorn in my side.

I strut over to her pathetic being with a sly smile. "What's wrong Gwendolyn? Not one for romance?"

She looks up at me with pure disgust and spits: "Not yours"

I give a short laugh, "Ha, well, I waited long enough for it so I'm going to make _everything_ I can out of it."

This time she literally spits at me. Thankfully she's too worn out to give the projectile enough momentum to reach me.

*SMACK* I slap her, sending her to her side.

"You will show respect to your superiors" I command her before continuing, "You could have prevented this, you know? This is your own doing. If you hadn't stuck your nose where it doesn't belong and didn't get involved in magic, we might have even been friends. But no, little Gwen Tennyson had to have part of the spotlight too… and look where it got you. You could have prevented all of this." I gesture to the world surrounding her before correcting myself.

"Well, not _this_." I stretch a hand towards Ben and he walks up to take it, only for him to be immediately pulled in for a kiss. Soon he started moaning, more importantly, he was moaning my name.

"Hope…"

"Hope!"

"HOPE!"

* * *

 _(Back in reality)_

My eyes flash open and I was brought out of my meditation to see the Ben was awake and trying to get my attention.

Disappointed that I was pulled out of my fantasy where everything was perfect, I look up at him. "What is it?"

"What are you doing?" he questioned me.

"I _was_ meditating," I emphasized the 'was'. "Why is this so fascinating to you? Surely that amateur cousin of yours does the same."

"Well…yeah, but… um…she doesn't float." He finally revealed

I give a small chuckle as a smirk appears on face. "I'm not a bit surprised. She's centuries behind me!"

Ben gave me a curious look, as if asking for an explanation. And I was more than happy to tell him.

"Gwen is no more than an infant in the world of magic. She's just scratching the surface of power. She had to discover magic and sorcery, I was born into it. I have been practicing it since I could walk."

Not believing me he continued to question, "But every time we fought, you two almost seemed on par."

From curiosity to disbelief, Ben's emotions changed within the blink of an eye. "Then… that means…"

I feel my smirk widen more in excitement as he uncovers one of my secrets. "I've been holding back my true strength the whole time."

Ben, still in slight shock, continued. "Why?"

"Well, that's for me to know and you to find out." I teased. "But we have much more important things to discuss." I noted, turning my expression to serious.

Ben's own expression now imitated my own.

"We've done nothing of much productivity since you got here and if we don't take initiative soon, we're going to lose opportunity." I told him.

Ben asked, "What's the opportunity?"

"I need you to run an errand for me." I said innocently.

Knowing me too well, Ben gave an irritated look.

I gave my familiar evil smirk.

"You already broke out of jail. Now you're breaking into prison."

* * *

Ben's POV

"You want me to WHAT?!"

"Don't get so worked up, it won't be as hard as you may think. I'll be helping." Hope said lightly, as if this were a daily chore. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was, knew her past, and even current, life of crime.

"Plus… you'll have this." She added, tossing something to me.

I caught it, and immediately identified the object as a plumber's badge. Then more specifically, _my_ plumber's badge.

"How do you have this!?" I asked truly clueless.

Her smirk I knew all too well by now was still plastered onto her beautiful, yet deadly face. "I've had a lot of spare time with you being unconscious so often. Try to keep that to a minimum from now on by the way, for both our sakes."

Ignoring her snarky request I couldn't help but wonder how this would help. "Still… what's the point in having this? I mean, it's gotta be deactivated or something."

Hope simply replied "I doubt it; they've probably been too busy worrying about where you are and bringing you in than denying your past equipment which they believe the authorities still have possession of. "I bet the last thing they'd expect is for you to go walking straight back to them."

It was hard to deny that Hope wasn't right. With the belief that the police still have my stuff and that I'm in hiding, this would be the last thing the plumbers would expect.

"So what am I going to do, just waltz right in and out and expect nobody to recognize me? I don't know if you've ever seen the inside of a plumbers base, buts there's a lot of plumbers inside them that know exactly what I look like." I remarked

"That's where I come in." she revealed. "I'll provide a distraction, a big one, to make the plumbers scramble like ants. They'll be too busy worrying about me attacking to worry if someone who didn't belong was inside the facility. _And_ you'll be disguised." Hope seemed to like the last idea too much for my comfort.

Then a thought crossed my mind. "Wait, what are we even stealing? What is it that the plumbers have we need so much?

"Something that only they have; information." She answered.

"Information about what?" I pried.

"A prisoner's location, prisoner 13's location and status to be specific." She said.

This can't be good. "Whose prisoner 13?" I interrogated.

She gave a fake pout before saying "What's wrong don't trust me? I'm doing this to help you after all."

She was right though. If I was going to clear my name and pull my life back together, I was going to need to trust her. So I sighed in defeat.

"The hardest part will be getting into the facility. But once you're in, I'll begin my attack. Once they're distracted, all you'll have to do is find some console with prisoner's details on it, and find the information of prisoner 13, and remember the location of where he's being held. You should have no problems just walking out of the base, as long as you don't take forever." She clarified. "Now about that disguise…"

She gestured for me to follow her, and so I did.

She stopped at the door to my room before opening it and leading me inside. She then chanted something inaudible and a bag of clothes appeared in her hand.

She handed then to me before telling me to put them on. I looked at her questionably before she rolled her eyes and said, "It's not like you can just were the same clothes forever, and especially now that everyone knows that you're wanted, you'll need a new look."

I briefly looked through the clothing she got me. A few pairs of jeans some blue and some black, as well some shirts that were different assortments of grays, white, and blacks. They weren't much different from the cloths I used to wear, but I guess there were always being covered by that jacket I always wore.

Charmcaster stepped out of the room so I could change in privacy. Once she did I picked a pair of black jeans and a medium gray shirt. I looked in the mirror and could remember when I could wear clothes like these without the purpose of trying to undercover. In just a week, my entire life has been torn apart and now I'm trying to piece it back together with someone I thought I would never look at as an ally. It's almost funny; about a week ago, I would have thought my current situation to be impossible. Grandpa, Gwen, Kevin, and I all agreed to go on a vacation like we did when we were kids. Only it was interrupted by me getting framed. And I still have no clue who did this to me… who did this to poor grandpa.

I really hope that he's recovering well; he's always been like a father to me. If only he wasn't unconscious, he could convince the plumbers that it wasn't me who did it. Then it would be much easier to find out who framed me to be this criminal.

I conclude my thoughts as I finish changing my clothes and open the door to the hallway where Hope is waiting.

"How are they? Do they fit right?" she asked me.

Surprisingly they actually fit perfectly and I liked the color, despite the lack of green. "Yeah… they're actually the perfect size… how did you know what I wear?"

I swear I saw a look of unprepared shock when I asked her. But she was quick to correct her action and shot back an answer. "I…uh…tried to compare them to your old clothes… or at least what was left of them, being all torn up."

I thanked her anyway before she pulled something out from behind her back. "Also…I...Uh, this is for you…thought you might like it since your other one looks like it's a rag."

I grabbed it and held it up. I was a light-weight jacket, much like my other green one that was destroyed. It kept the same pattern as my old one with a main color with a vertical stripe through it. Only this one was black with a green stripe.

I put it on to see how it felt, and was surprised when it felt even more comfortable than my old one.

"Wow, uh thanks… that's pretty thoughtful of you." I did all I could from forming a blush on my face. I still just can't get that one night out of my head.

She just nodded before continuing, "Anyway we should get going. We don't want to be working in the complete dark."

I nod in agreement and we begin to make out way into town to start our raid.

* * *

Gwen's POV

 _(In the Plumber's base)_

'Why?!' I think to myself while staring into space.

'Why would this happen. This _couldn't_ happen.' I had to be imagining things, dreaming maybe.

'But there was no way in Hell that this could really, truly be happening.'

I've known Ben since he and I traveled with Grandpa all across the country in the Rust-Bucket, when we were 10. Back when he was still immature and we picked on each other. Back when he first acquired the Omnitrix.

Even since then, I knew that Ben would NEVER do something like this. The information was false, It had to be. They have the wrong guy.

But the evidence was stacked against me in every way possible. The cops found one of Ben's famous green jackets covered in blood in a dumpster. And if that wasn't enough, the victim himself claimed that it was Ben who did it before passing into a coma.

But… I knew Grandpa. And he knew that Ben would never do this. He had to be wrong, maybe he was just in shock when he was attacked, and was calling for Ben or someone to help.

It makes it worse that Ben took matters into his own hands and ran away from it all. Running from a crime you didn't commit doesn't make you look innocent by any means.

Even I have no idea where Ben is. He could be anywhere by now, especially with the help of the Omnitrix. But wherever he is, He isn't dead. I know that for a fact. Ben's tough although he doesn't look too much like it. And he's been in much worse scenarios.

I feel like some of this could be my fault. If only I hadn't gone off with Kevin that day. I could have proved that Ben was innocent and none of this would be happening.

But what's done is done- at least for now anyways. Kevin's been working around the clock now that Ben's gone and has taken over the plumbers along with Pierce. The two are always butting heads with each other though. I don't know how anything's ever going to get decided nowadays.

I'm snapped out of my thoughts as a alarm spontaneously blares to life with flashes of red from the alarm lights.

I instantly spring up. We're under direct attack!

I run into the main hall where plumbers are scrambling in every direction, trying to get to their emergency destinations.

I run, trying to get to the scene of the attack to fight back, knowing exactly who I'll end up meeting along the way.

Soon enough Peirce ends up running by my side. Without looking at him I ask, "Who is it? Who could be strong enough to actually think that they can take on an entire plumber facility and win?"

He answers with heavy irritation, most likely from the inconvenient time of the attack than from my question, "Charmcaster."

"I knew that bitch wasn't gone for good!" said a new voice. Kevin appeared at my other side, joining the sprint to the action.

"It's been too long since her last appearance, she must be up to something big," reasoned Pierce.

"You're probably right, but what could she gain from attacking the plumbers directly…other than potentially destroying it?" I asked.

Kevin answered this time, "I have no idea, but it's just one more excuse to beat the shit out of her." with hints of amusement in his voice. "We haven't gotten any action for weeks!"

With that being said we made it to the outside via a new hole in the wall that was defiantly created by…"

"HAHAHAHA, FEEL MY POWER, YOU INSIGNIFICANT BUFFOONS!" yelled my one and only rival.

"Charmcaster!" I yelled to get her attention.

"She's attacking the reactor that powers the facility!" exclaims Pierce.

"Not for long, she won't be!" Kevin comments, turning to stone, before he leaps to punch Charmcaster in that face.

She dodges with ease and sends a counter attack by sending bolts of magic towards his position.

Only something is different about the bolts. I swear that they're shaped differently, but I can't be sure.

Kevin, being as reckless as he is, charges into the attack, thinking that he can take them head on and surprise Charmcaster. Only sent to the ground in pain from the contact with the magic.

"What the fuck! That hurt wayyy more than last time we fought!" He begins to pick himself up with the help of Peirce drawing that attention of Charmcaster.

Kevin's form is crumbling with small rocks falling off, so he grabs a piece of stray metal from the explosion that happened moments ago, turning him into a much more durable state than rock.

Now I know for sure. Something is different.

"She's changed the shape of the magic! She can concentrate it into a much more dangerous form and project it !" I exclaim to the others.

Charmcaster disengages from a spar with Pierce.

"A quick learner I see, Gwendolyn. You're correct." She demonstrates by holding out her hand and summoning some magic. As it materializes it takes the shape of a blade. Not one of much detail, but more of just a sharp edged figure.

She then projected the figure of magic to my feet, where it buried itself hilt deep into the hard dirt and rock before disappearing like most magic.

"So that's her new trick!" said Pierce as he observed the demonstration take place. "Well don't think that your new party trick will stop us, Charmcaster!"

He drew a long spear like rod from his skin and got into a fighting position, signaling he was ready to take her on.

I focused my magic into my hands, also ready to take action against the witch.

* * *

Ben's POV

 _(Moments ago)_

'Come on, where's the distraction alrea-'

*BOOM*

Hope wasn't kidding when she said that she would have a big distraction. An entire section of the facility almost seemed to be up in flames.

Plumbers scatter about, and panic is obvious throughout the base.

Even the guards who check I.D. abandoned their post to go help put down the attack, making my breach all too easy.

With only the computer left to scan for I.D, it took and accepted my old badge.

'Guess I'm not completely out of the system yet…' I thought as I swiftly sprint-walk down one of the main halls heading towards a room with one of the main information consoles in it.

I look down another hall briefly to see that sparks are flying from the overhead lights and electrical equipment.

'Hope wasn't kidding when she said that she had been holding back her strength, damn…'

With my new jacket I kept pulled the hood on and over my head so it would hide any side view of my face. I wanted to keep the odds of someone identifying me as low as possible so I could get in and out of this place as soon as I possibly can.

A few plumbers run passed me and dash in front of me every now and then, simply too focused on getting to the destination as fast as possible, to recognize me.

"It's almost too easy." I mumble under my breath, as I reach the room I was trying to get to.

I shut the door behind me and started up the console.

The screen came up, demanding a password. I tried typing the last password that I knew the computer would accept.

'LuckyRustBucket10'

'ACCESS DENIED' the screen read.

"Damn it!" I slammed my fist down onto the desk in frustration.

"Of course they would change the passwords when a plumber goes rogue." I said to myself

I spend the next few moments trying to think of anything that the password could be, however nothing comes to mind.

I lay my hands over the key board just to see if that could help jump my mind to find an answer, when all of a sudden…

The keyboard turns a black with a familiar green circuitry ruining through it, almost like blood veins. Then it spreads to the mouse, followed by the console, then finally the screen.

The screen automatically begins to type in letters into the password screen until it reads,

'DontTouchMyCar'

'… Must have been Kevin's turn to change the password…' I think to myself, knowing that I'm right.

Then the screen began to open up different folders and files until finally one read:

 **PRISONER INFORMATION**

I scroll down to prisoner 13 and what I see leaves me in shock.

'This couldn't be right,' I thought. But somehow I knew that this was the correct information and should start making my way out of this place. No need to be here any longer than I really have to be, it's too much of a risk.

I quickly memorize the information on the screen, making sure to retain every detail; otherwise this entire mission would be a waste and we wouldn't get another shot.

Then I turn off the console and the black-green circuits retreat out of the system, disappearing form existence.

All I needed to do now was get to the rendezvous and give the signal.

* * *

Charmcaster POV

Fending off these two plus an extra is way easier now that Ben isn't against me. He's finally where he belongs; right next to me… even if he doesn't know it

I deflect another unorganized punch from Kevin send a few dagger-like bolts of magic at his back. He lets out a grunt of pain before getting back up.

"Child's play…" I say mockingly, simply with no other purpose than to get on his nerves even more.

Gwendolyn and this new opponent that they call 'Pierce' shift into a defensive stance.

"This doesn't make any sense… how could she be this strong." Said Pierce, "She's nothing that any of the files we have on her say she is."

"I don't understand either… we can't even land a hit on her." Replied a concerned Gwen.

Kevin then regrouped with them, "We can't give up, we'll find a way to bring this bitch down." He reassured them.

Just then a small pillar of flame erupted from the sky some distance away. My signal to wrap things up.

"Well, it's been fun, but I'm afraid that's my signal to leave." I said beginning to turn around and fly off to where the flame erupted.

"Not so fast, Charmcaster!"

 _Swoosh_

A javelin grazed my right cheek taking a small bit of flesh with it.

I stop dead in my tracks, not even turning around. I bring my hand to my cheek and feel a sharp sting. I then look at my hand to see it has some of my blood on it.

"…" For a few seconds I said nothing.

"So… that's how it's going to be." I said suppressing my true rage from erupting.

I finally turn around, still in the sky, and face them. A look of high concern, perhaps even a small bit of fear was on they're faces.

"Well… if we're exchanging parting gifts…" I say as I magically pick up an abandoned oil-tanker off the nearby road.

"THEN YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO STEP YOUR GAME UP!" I scream before launching the vehicle with my full force at them.

I see panic on the face of my greatest rival and I smirk as I continue to my destination.

Then an explosion erupts behind me.

* * *

So how was it?

I'm once again sorry that I t took this long to put out there, but we've been over this.

I can tell you that the Ben and CC will be getting together soon, so you can get excited for that :D

How about CC's new strengths and ability? Being about to create temporary objects out of magic seems pretty cool to me, without being too over powered. And don't worry she's supposed to be too strong for Gwen, Pierce, and Kevin to handle right now. Eventually the difference between them will balance out.

On the topic of those three, what's going to happen? Do you think they're still alive? Well… unfortunately for Charmcaster, it's not going to be that easy. (Come on, I can't just kill off three major characters in that lame of a way, even if they struck a nerve when they damaged her appearance)

AND HOW ABOUT PRISONER 13? Who could they be!? Any ideas? I really want to know who you guys think it is; I love seeing your ideas and guesses about the story.

Anyway the next chapter will be important for sure. Unfortunately I can't even begin to tell you when it will be available… but let's keep our hopes up.

 _-The Dark Arrow_


	5. Chapter 5 - The Storm before the Calm

Hey Guys,

Yeah, it's time for another delayed chapter to be added to our story.

Good News!

With school coming to an end, I may finally be able to work on the story more often! Yay!

Also,

I can't tell you how much feedback I got from chapter 4! You guys are awesome! I read everyone's comments, thoughts, questions, and predictions when you review and I truly love when I get a notification that tells me that there's a new one. On that note…

Answers and comments to reviews:

5H1N1GAM1 (I'm not going to write out the questions cause it's too many but here's your answers)

A: 1) read the post chapter author's note. (I'll have to think about implicating it)

2) Yes, but only if it's his own self-produced fire and such (read #3)

3) Ben is only fire-proof to his own abilities. The same rule applies to things such as the cold. Fires such as explosions and natural fires can still cause him harm.

4) I really want to ignore the ultimate forms of his aliens because, to be honest, I completely forgot he could do that. Maybe in the future, if I deem it appropriate, I'll implement some sort of power on the same scale as his ultimate forms.

5) Yes, although it takes time.

Masane \- Yes! i love this kind of betrayal story as-well, and don't worry Hope has plenty of tricks up her sleeve. We've only seen the tip of the iceberg. You are 100% correct on understanding Ben's newfound power. As for your guess on 'Prisoner 13'... (You'll have to read the chapter). Thank you for this review, it genuinely made me smile.

DreamDisneyGurl \- Thank you! I appreciate the kind words. ( _And don't worry, Micheal isn't out of the hole yet_ )

mrenteria99 \- Ikr, kids today will never have the same good shows we had growing up. Its sad really.

Once again, thank you for all your kind words and reviews

Now onto the chapter that you've all been waiting for.

* * *

-~Chapter 5~-

 _The Storm before the Calm_

* * *

Ben's POV

As soon as I'm clear from the moderately damaged Plumber's facility, I make a full on sprint to the agreed rendezvous: a dark, semi-narrow, alleyway in the city that the plumber base is just outside of.

'How typical,' I think to myself as I sprint, 'criminals meeting in dark, secluded alley… Never heard of that idea before.'

Then I notice,

'I've never been able to run this fast before. Probably comes from XLR8. It's kinda nice have some power without having to go all-out alien.'

Although it's not nearly as fast, this is definitely XLR8's ability being drawn-out by Hope's spell. I should have plenty of time to make it to the meeting point.

Almost a third of the way to my destination the sky lights up in a sudden burst of orange.

 _CRACK! BOOOOM!_

From behind me an explosion erupted to life. I stop, almost tripping due to the shockwave of the detonation.

'That came from the same direction as the Plumber's base…' I begin to worry.

Hope said that she'd attack the base only as a distraction… I just wish I could trust her not to get carried away.

Slowly the explosion fades and the fiery light retreats back from the sky.

I resume my running in silence, deep in thought.

'That was big… someone could be hurt… wait no… I can't worry about them anymore, not the plumbers. They're against me now… I have to focus on the allies (or really _ally_ ) that I have now. I'm sure Hope's fine; she probably cause the outburst anyways…' I try to reason with myself but can't help but feel a pang of guilt abandoning the plumbers.

* * *

Time Skip

About 10-15 mins

* * *

'Finally, and with time to spare…'

I arrive at the rendezvous, an alleyway between two apartment buildings in the ran-down part of town.

'geeze, this place brings back some memories.' I think to myself as I pull down my hood, revealing the sweat on my head to fresh air. 'I guess its ironic how the tables have turned with me standing here now. Now the people I used to try to help and save in this city see me as just another criminal waiting for the right time to hurt them now.'

A lot of crime happens in this area, so much, that it's almost constant. All kinds of stuff happens in this part of the city: bank robbery, car theft, normal theft, burglary… and murder. The last one stains my name as well as my mind.

And it would happen in broad daylight too; in the middle of the day in the center of everything. It like it's just part of living in this area; you just expect it to happen and try to avoid anyone and everyone if possible in order to not be the next of limitless victims.

Never the less, a car siren goes off in the distance, just another vehicle broken into either to be robbed from or stolen completely. I sigh just out of desperation for this entire nightmare to end…

Then out of nowhere I'm slammed against the wall.

"Hey kid, give me your wallet… or else I'll carve you up."

A man dressed in somewhat ragged clothes is holding a knife to my chest. He can't be more than 30 years old, not too much older than myself. He must have snuck up on me from behind, while I was lost in my thoughts.

"Arrg…" I struggle against his force holding me against the hard brick wall.

"No use kid, now hurry up or I'll kill you and then take it myself."

This guy knows what he's doing. It's definitely not his first time mugging someone. I have no choice.

"Alright, alright… I'll give you the money."

He loosens off of me so that I can get to my wallet but keeps an aggressive stance so that I can't try anything.

I give him my wallet. He has a smirk on his face as he grabs the cash I have inside my wallet, although it's nothing more than about 25 dollars.

Then suddenly, his eyes bulge in realization as he glances over my driver's license. His hands start to shake as he speaks.

"No… no, you aren't, you can't be…"

He studies my face more deeply before he unconsciously takes a step back.

"y-you're Ben… t-t-Tennyson." His voice is shaky.

As if my situation wasn't bad enough, now it just got dramatically worse. This guy can I.D. me, report my sighting to the cops. Then they'll know I'm still around; hiding and lurking about in the city. I can't let this guy get away.

Immediately I reverse our previous position. Now I'm the one holding him captive. I clench my hand in to a fist, much like I had done a few nights ago, and a crystallized, sharp shiv -like blade grows to life in my hand. The curse (or really spell) mark on my hand glows brightly, signaling its usage.

I bring my free hand to his chin and force his head up and keep the rest of my arm pressed against his chest, forcing him against the wall. With his chin pressed upward, his throat is completely unguarded, and vulnerable. I place the blade directly against his neck, not putting pressure on the knife, just letting it rest on his throat as I take in what's about to happen.

Am I really going to become what the people call me? A murderer? Can I really take this guys life? He's not too much older than me; he still has so much ahead of him.

But if I let him go, it puts me at risk. I'll be hunted down once again by the cops and the plumbers; I'll be forced to run once again. And then who can I ask for help? No one.

"P-please ... let me go… don't kill me. Please…"

This guy is scarred shitless. He's shaking at the fact that this could be his last moment of life. His final mistake is mugging some guy in a dark alleyway. He could have a family he needs to support; he could only be robbing people because it's his only option to provide for his kids of other family.

I give him a deep look. And then let go.

I can't kill this man. I just can't bring myself to do it.

I drop the crystallized blade and take a step back, releasing the man from the wall.

As soon as I do so, he darts away before tripping over himself, falling into a puddle of rainwater. He lets out a grunt before picking himself back up and resumes sprinting for his life.

…His life that met its end regardless of my choice of action.

He must have been no more than 25 feet away from where we held each other captive before his head exploded.

His body dropped with a thud and slid a few feet on the hard ruff pavement before coming to a stop.

Whatever was left of his skull was imbedded with a glowing pinkish-purple javelin, before it evaporated into nothing, leaving the corpse to grow cold.

* * *

Hope's POV

* * *

I spectate Ben being held captive, hoping this would happen. It's the reason I chose this location.

I want to see if Ben can handle himself now that he's wanted by every plumber and cop in the country. I need to be sure that he can make the necessary decisions needed to remain undetected and out of the spotlight.

I need to see if above all, if he can kill.

So far… I'm unimpressed. Ben's too compliant; he's just giving in and giving the mugger his money.

'grrrr' I mentally growl at his weakness. I know he's stronger than this. He's Ben Tennyson; there's a reason he's feared by all who oppose him. Yet he holds back and lets himself get kicked around like a mutt.

I should have expected this of him. He's still playing the 'good guy' role. He needs to realize that he isn't the 'good guy' anymore.

I move begin to form a blade of magic and intervene when Ben sparks some hope.

He's turned the tables on the guy! Ben was only acting like the victim to wait for the right opportunity to strike!

'Yes!' I scream mentally. This is the Ben that the world knows and that I want. The clever, strong one that is always on-top of the situation at hand, even if it looks like his defeat.

Now, for the moment that it all comes down to: Will he follow through and kill?

I edge forward with anticipation, my desire to see him seal the deal and take a life, feasts off the image of Ben holding a knife to his captor. He's in control of the man's life. It could all end here and now, all with the swipe of a blade.

This is it.

Then, just when I think he's going to do it. He drops the man and backs away.

Ben lets the man run.

I frown, my joy and excitement turning into dismay.

The fool trips and falls face-first into puddle.

Perhaps Ben was toying with him and giving him a taste of freedom before killing him then, when he thinks he's safe.

But to my displeasure, I'm wrong again.

Ben lets the man continue onwards, running for his life.

I feel my eye nearly twitch at a mix of anger, disappointment, and fury.

'How dare he!?' I yell to myself mentally. 'After all this, he's just going to let it all go and let himself get reported! He won't kill some stupid, insignificant alley-dweller!?

Out of pure fury, I summon magic into a weapon I haven't tried yet. But that's the least of my worries, I just need something sharp and throw-able the end this idiot's life. I WON'T have this 'nobody' ruin everything that has led to this.

I throw the spear with every ounce of power I have.

It passes over Ben's shoulder in an instant. Within a blink of an eye, the man's head is shattered into a hundred tiny pieces.

Ben gasps and spins to face the pure fury I have in my eyes.

* * *

Gwen's POV

* * *

"GET DOWN!" Kevin yelled right before the oil tanker came flying full throttle at us.

I did all I could to put up a protective barrier around myself.

My eyes widen in shock as I realize that the barrier will only be enough to reach me.

That's all I have time to think before hits the ground in front of us and immediately erupts in a pillar of fire.

The force of the heat and power of the explosion have me fighting to remain the contact with the ground. But it's just too much.

I feel my body thrown across some distance before I black out.

* * *

(Unknown amount of time later)

* * *

All I can hear is ringing in my ears as my vision comes slowly back to me, fading back in and out.

I can make out a humanoid figure carrying something on its back moving towards me.

It tries to tell me something but I can't understand with the ringing in my ears.

It says it again louder

Suddenly I look up to see my vision return.

Its Kevin in, his stone form, carrying an unconscious Pierce.

"GWEN! Get up NOW! We have to go!

I manage to pick myself up and I follow him.

All I can do is think about following Kevin and trusting that he can get us out of danger.

Various objects form bricks to parts of the destroyed truck are still raining down from the sky because of the mass of the explosion.

My lungs burn from all of the smoke and I can feel my legs about to give out once more we come to a clearing.

I let myself drop onto the grass, as Kevin drops Peirce off his back, and collapses himself.

"That… (Pant)… Crazy… (Pant) …bitch…" He says between breaths.

I don't say anything, but he knows that I'm in agreement.

After some silence, Peirce moans as he wakes up.

"Uhg, my head…" he complains. "What the hell happened?"

"Yeah, what did happen to you two?" I added in wonder of how they managed to survive the make-shift missile that was launched at us.

"When the witch sent the tanker flying towards us, I couldn't find much cover, so I dove behind a pile of rubble, chunks of brick and cement and stuff." Kevin revealed. "I couldn't find Gwen, but I saw Whiskers take a flight across the parking lot when the shockwave hit. Ha-ha" he laughed to himself, before wincing in pain.

Peirce rubbed his head as he sat up. "Ugg that's right. There wasn't anything to take cover with near me, so I ran for it."

After some moments of grunting we got back on our feet.

"We need to assess the damage done to the base. Hopefully it's not too bad…" stated Peirce.

"Since when did Charmcaster get to be such a problem?" I asked. "We used to be on par…"

Kevin answered, "Well, she has been gone for long time. She was probably training and plotting something big. But just attacking the plumber base doesn't make any sense… what could she gain from it? I can't think of anything."

"I don't know but she must have some motive." I said as we walk back to the entrance of the damaged plumber base.

Repair groups were scattered about, rushing from one place to another, trying to stop and fix the more important necessities that were damaged during the attack.

"Pierce!" I heard a voice shout from behind us.

Within the blink of an eye Helen was hugging Pierce.

"Thank god you're alive. We couldn't find you anywhere after that huge explosion."

Pierce returned the hug before gently pushing away trying to get some space.

"Yeah, I was knocked unconscious after the final explosion.

"Well it's a good thing you're ok." Came a newer, deeper voice.

As expected, Manny wasn't too far behind Helen.

"Good to see you Manny, how's the damage report looking?" Pierce questioned.

"Well, the east wing is pretty much destroyed beyond repair. And there's moderate damage to the power reactor. Most of our engineers and repair guys are focusing on the power to make sure that it keeps on." Manny reported.

Pierce gave a wave to me and Kevin as he, Helen, and Manny branched apart from us to see over repairs and such.

With Pierce gone, I turn to Kevin. "What do we do now?" I ask him.

Without looking to me he answers, "I want to know just exactly what that psycho-which wanted."

He leads us to one of the data rooms. Luckily the power is still functional in the room so all of the consoles were still active.

Kevin takes a seat at one of the computers and begins to search the inventory of items and assets that the plumber facility has possession of and i take a look at all of the plumbers last login to make sure everyone is ok and accounted for.

After some time of searching Kevin lets out of sigh.

"I don't understand. We don't have the Alpha Rune or the Staff of Ages… and I don't know any other magical item that she could want."

I answer, "I dont think she was trying to steal anything. I think shes up to something bigger."

Suddenly a name crosses the screen that shouldn't be there.

The profile picture was oddly distorted and unrecognizable, but the name couldn't be mistaken.

 **PLUMBER:** Tennyson, Benjamin

 **Age:** 21

 **Item of Importance:** Omnitrix

 **Last Checked in:** 45 minutes ago

Kevin and I stay silent in shock for a few seconds

"This doesn't make any sense. This can't be right." Kevin finally lets out.

"It has to be a glitch. Maybe when the shockwave from the explosion hit, it messed with the consoles." i try to give an explanation.

We look at each other with a mixed since of disbelief and concern.

* * *

Pierce's POV

* * *

"So what happened out there?" asked Helen.

"Charmcaster happened." I respond.

Two faces of confusion turn to me.

"Charmcaster? What do you mean? This was ALL her doing?" Manny said in disbelief.

"She's never been anything we can't handle, much less a Class A criminal. I mean this was a big hit!" Helen follows.

"I don't know how she's done it either. But the fact is, she's much stronger that ever; not to mention determined. She's usually cocky and somewhat arrogant, but this time she was also focused… the most I could do was scratch her." I finish in defeat.

Helen puts a hand on my shoulder in a comforting manner. "It's ok Peirce, she took us by surprise. The important thing is that you or the others weren't hurt. We'll get her back."

"Thanks. How's Max doing? Is he in any better condition?" I ask.

Manny speaks up, "Actually his wounds are completely healed, but he's still unconscious."

"Well it's much better than nothing. How's the improved training going? I still need the plumbers to be fully ready and trained in case something like this happens again."

"Well it was going just fine until, well…" he gestures to the damage done to the building around us. "Obviously, now there's going to be a few setbacks"

Then a message on my plumber badge blinks to life.

'Peirce, you need to get down to the security consoles and look at this.' –Gwen

"Something's up." I tell Manny and Helen as they follow me to the security room.

* * *

In the Security Room

* * *

"What is it" I ask both Gwen and Kevin.

Gwen looks me in the eye and turns the computer monitor to face me.

"I don't get it; it's just the list of most recent logi-…" This doesn't make any sense.

"How can Ben be the last person to login, He doesn't have his badge!" I exclaim.

"Actually we called the department, and guess what they had to admit?" Kevin asked rhetorically.

I put a hand to my head in annoyance. "They lost the badge, didn't they?"

He nods.

"Well we still don't know that it wasn't a glitch in the system, we can't rule out possibilities." Said Gwen.

Manny spoke up "Actually, I've got bad news. These are all manual logins. And with the new system that we had installed, mistakes aren't made. You have to physically scan in you plumber I.D. and no I.D. can be mistaken."

"But, that means-" Helen spoke.

"Ben was here during the attack" Kevin finished

* * *

Ben's POV

* * *

"HOW DARE YOU!" Hope yells as she floats over to me.

I'm still too stunned from the sight of the man's head bursting to say anything.

"You were just going to let him get away and blab to the whole world where you're located!? She convicted me.

"I… I couldn't kill him." I manage to stutter out.

"Damn it, Ben. You're NOT a hero anymore!" she yells.

"He could have had a family, or he might really need the money for something." I try to excuse. No success.

"It doesn't matter!" she continues. "Ben, you have to kill people when it comes to this!"

That pushes it.

"And what, sink to your level?!" I scream back.

She winces subconsciously but doesn't look any less angry.

"I'm doing this whole thing for you, remember!" she counters

"Oh Bull-shit," I state. "This whole 'Prisoner 13' crap is all for you, because I have no desire to break your uncle out of prison."

She growls before answering. "We're going to need him, trust me!"

I stand my ground as the weather beings to pour down rain.

"If you think that I'm going to help break-out Hex from prison, then you're out of your damn mind!" I argue.

Now I've crossed the line.

"YOU THINK THAT I WANT TO BREAK OUT THE GUY WHO ABUSED ME! I want him dead! But he's the only one who knows where the Staff of Ages is! She screeches with fury.

"I'm doing all of this for you, but clearly you're going to fight me every bit of the way! So why don't you just do it yourself then!" she continues.

I take a step back, not losing any anger.

"Maybe I will!"

"Do it then"

"Fine"

I turn and run into the crime ridden city, rain coming down harder every minute.

I don't turn back.

* * *

Sorry for the short chapter. To be honest, I had the chapter ready to upload a long time ago, but I just wasn't happy with the length and I'm still not. But I just can't fix it without making the story seem to drag on with unnecessary details.

I want to clear something up before the story gets really underway, just to avoid confusion. Ben doesn't receive all possible powers from his aliens, he actually has only a few until he can either recover more or some special event takes place during the story.

However, I do promise that it will expand into something very, very interesting and powerful after a certain event takes place.

I'm very excited for the next chapter (its the one you've all been waiting for) and its the conclusion to the first arc of the story, so its a major accomplishment for me. I can't promise its length or its release date, but I'll try as hard as I can to make it in everyone's favor.

until next time,

 _-The Dark Arrow_


	6. Chapter 6 Pre-Release

Chapter 6 Pre-Release

* * *

So it's about that time that everyone is looking forward to where a new chapter is released. But where is it?

Well a few things.

Since this is the end of the first arch of the story, and a pretty major event takes place, Chapter 6 is going to be extra long. That being said, it's going to take extra time.

BUT it will be worth the wait, trust me… Have I ever let you down before? _Don't answer that._

But I can promise it's a long awaited chapter of the story.

I've told you all that I had this story planned out from the first few chapters, and up until now it hasn't truly been revealed. Yes, the main goal is for Ben to restore his innocence, but that's far into the future and several smaller steps must be taken to get there.

And with this upcoming addition to the story, the first small goal will be completed and the second one will be revealed.

* * *

The next thing I want to mention is something that I honestly don't even know how to say.

I recently checked the list of Ben 10 stories and sorted them by the number of 'Follows' each one has, and the results truly left me speechless.

42nd out of 6,057 as of this is being typed.

That's were our story stands. 42nd most follows out of any Ben 10 story on this website.

And only from the first arch of the story! That is SO mind blowing to me!

I don't know what to say except that I love you guys.

When I posted the first chapter to this story, I thought that at most I would get 50 favorites by the end of the story. And you guys have already done more than doubled that. Wow.

You guys are the best. Honestly.

So I really didn't have a preview for chapter 6 but since I found this information out, I couldn't just leave you guys without a thank-you gift of some sorts.

So as a thank you I give you this.

* * *

-~Chapter 6 (BETA)~-

* * *

Everything was on fire.

The houses, the stores, the roads. People were swarming in the chaos, trampling each other and running, while corpses lay in the streets. The Sky was tainted with a black tint from the smoke, and all I could smell was sulfur.

"Quickly, Hex! Portals and transport was always your thing, get us somewhere safe, and fast!" my dad rushed.

"I'm already on it!" grunted uncle as he began chanting a ritual.

"Well, look who it is. Going somewhere, Spellbinder?" came an unfamiliar, deep voice.

Daddy cursed under his breath.

"Be gone Adwaita! You took me by surprise when you ambushed the Ledger, but I won't let you hurt my family!" yelled Daddy back at our invader.

"What are you going to do, Spellbinder, I'm curious. I've taken several worlds and brought them to their knees; do you really think that you can stop me?" said the turtle-like monster as he took a step closer.

"You forget you're speaking to the ruler of the world of magic. You're in my domain." Threatens Daddy. But I can tell there's something in his voice that leaks concern.

"A little faster please, brother." Whispers daddy, just out of earshot from the approaching enemy.

Uncle Hex looks back at my father aggravated but also sharing the same concern, but doesn't break his chain of magical chants.

Father puts me down. "Go to Uncle Hex, Charmcaster. I'll be right behind you, I promise."

"Daddy?" I feel the warm streak of a tear running down my face.

He looks at me, "Go! Now!" he commands.

I obey his orders and run to uncle, who yelled his final chant before a portal appeared from nowhere.

"It's ready Spellbinder! Hurry!" shouted Uncle.

Daddy looked back, "Someone will have to hold him off or else he'll only follow us. You take Charmcaster and leave; I'll follow when I have a chance." And then got into a fighting stance.

"But Brother, the port-"

"I SAID GO!" my father yelled.

Uncle Hex hesitated before picking me up and turning towards the portal."I'll see you then Brother."

Uncle looked back one final time. "Good Bye."

And with that he stepped through the portal, along with me in his arms.

* * *

0_o

What's this? Why is Spellbinder alive? What's going on? Is Hex a good guy again or something?

Honestly I feel this teaser gives a lot of information I didn't really want to give away until the actual chapter release, but eh whatever.

Let me know what you guys think is going on, I love hearing your guesses.

* * *

NOW,

With the end of the first arch being a big deal, I want to do something special.

I want you guys to leave questions, ideas, concerns, or even just comments about anything (Story related or about me)

I will answer as much as I can without spoiling the story. I like to incorporate your guy's ideas if possible, even if it's just a small thing.

* * *

ON THAT NOTE

I'll answer and respond to some review left from the last update.

Masane- 

Yes, I agree it was much earlier than I would have liked to write the scene of Ben and CC fighting over his need to be able to kill, but honestly I needed the plot to start moving along and this was the perfect gateway for that.

As for your prediction for Ben to grow to use two powers at once; It takes a lot for me to hold my hands back from typing up just how cool and strong Ben will be after an event. But I will say, you're on the right track.

I especially love to read your reviews (specifically) because you give so much feedback and opinions on the story.

Thank you so much and please keep leaving me your reviews

5H1N1GAM1-

Also one of my favorite reviewers,

Since you've put the idea in my head about ultimate forms, I've found myself toying with it more and more. It would definitely create more potential for Ben in ways I havn't thought about. (And I agree, if I walked out of my house and so a guy trying to do an oral blast of some sorts, I would definitely think he's on meth or something.)

I'm glad you feel the way you do about Ben as of right now. He was being a total dick and was wayyyy out of line. You can rest assured knowing that the Bitch-Slap is coming (I'm pretty sure the hyphen is appropriate)

Please continue your reviews; I look forward to reading them every time.

Mikotal-

Have no fear; Chapter 6 is half way here.

StraferElite-

Yes indeed.

* * *

Well that's really all I got for now.

So you can expect chapter 6 to be a real treat. I can't give a date to expect it because I've recently become pretty busy once again, but I try hard to set time aside to write.

Until the long await Chapter addition,

 _-The Dark Arrow_


	7. Chapter 6 - Full Circle

I'm Not Dead I Promise!

I'm so sorry that this took to get out. Details after the chapter. (Please read them for the future of the story)

* * *

-~Chapter 6~-

Full Circle

* * *

(Lemon Warning: later in story)

* * *

Ben's POV

I don't care where I'm going.

My only thought is of getting the hell away from her, this city, all of it.

I'm not going to become the criminal that everyone says that I am. I'm going to do this the right way, even if it's all by myself. I should have never even thought of trusting her, it was a mistake I made once when I was a kid, and I won't let it happen again.

All she's ever done is hurt me and the ones that I love. For all I know, she could have been involved in hurting grandpa and this is just dome big scheme to take me down for good.

I'm not going to let that happen. I won't be taken down for good just by some framing.

A car that's seen better days passes me, its headlights blinding me for a second as I walk to leave the city.

Why would anyone want to return to that damn city? Nothing good ever happens in there. Nothing.

That city is its own grave. There's no helping it, I've tried countless times to resolve crime in it; each one only to have another felony the very next day.

I hate leaving the city to rot in its own blood, but even Gwen agreed once that the place was permanently rotting and there was almost nothing we could do about it.

I finally pass the rusted sign that tells "You are now leaving Morg City, please visit again!" marking my exit of the city. What a truly perfect name for the cesspool of a city.

I look through the rain to see an empty bus station. May as well take shelter there until the rain stops.

I look back down towards the ground for the sole reason to keep my head dry since I have my hood on.

I continue my mindless thinking as I reach the bus stop, still not bothering to lift my head, and take a seat on the bench.

"Oh, hello Ben. fancy meeting you here."

That voice. My eyes light up and I lift my head to reveal the projector of the voice.

"Pro- Professor Paradox…" I stammer.

"It's been a little while since we last met, hasn't it? Well, no more than a couple seconds for me at least, but we won't dabble around with that. Would you like a gumball?" He mentions

I take his offering before asking. "Not to be rude Professor, but um… why are you here?"

He sighs before closing his mouth and looks up to the sky, thinking about how to answer.

"Well Ben, I could tell you, but I'm afraid that we just don't have time for that. So I'll cut to the chase."

I nod.

"Ben, do you know why I like gum so much?" he asks

I'm a little taken back by his question. Surely the great Professor Paradox didn't come here to tell me about his love of gum.

"I… uh." I manage to spill out.

He smiles. "Well Ben, it's because gumballs are just like universes."

Ok, he's lost his mind again.

"They all start out the same, perfectly round, hard, and full of flavor. But then comes along a person who chews-up the gumball. And from there, nothing is the same. Each time that person chews on that piece of gum, its shape and hardness changes."

I stop chewing the gum as he narrates exactly what's happening in my mouth.

"Even if that person tries to make two pieces of chewed up gum look that same, they never are, even if it's by a microscopic detail."

He looks back towards me.

"What I'm trying to get at, is, that no two universes are the same. Each one is shaped by a choice a person makes. And for every choice, a new universe is created."

At this point I can't help but be taken back by his analogy.

Paradox sighs again before continuing. "Not all of those universes are good ones, trust me. And too many of them spawn off of the decision that you're about to make right now."

"What are you talking about Professor?" I ask

"Well Ben, you've really gotten yourself in a knot this time. I'm not allowed to physically help or alter any universe, so all I can do is give you this advice: Make your next decision as if it could end your world. Because it could; no pressure." And then he smiled.

"Well, I better get going, you know, with me constantly slipping between universes and all; it's hard to stay in one place. Take care Ben." And with that he was gone in a flash, literally not even in my world anymore.

Now alone on a bench at a bus depot, it's as if the world finally gave me time to think, only accompanied by the sound of a heavy rain. After all this time, I can finally sort out what needs to be. All of my previous questions can finally be answered.

Do I have any allies? And if I do then, who? Are my old enemies, still my enemies?

After minutes of narrowing down what questions truly matter, these three are the only ones that I'm left with. At least they're the only ones that I can answer for myself.

I take a look at my cursed hand. The etching of an outlined Omnitrix glows to life as I summon a crystallized blade.

I use the reflection of the blade to look at myself. My hair is still darker from the spell that Charmcaster used to change my physical appearance. The jacket that she gave me hugs closely to my body. How did she get this? It's an exact replica of my favorite old green one.

Why would she go this far for me? She took me in; made sure my injuries were treated, and even granted me power.

…

And I never even thanked her, at least not sincerely.

And what she said about her uncle. Anger overcomes me as I throw the knife across the street, sinking it into some flyers that were posted against a telephone pole.

How could I think that she was using me to break out Hex? How could I forget how abusive and cruel he was to her? She would be the last person who would EVER want to have him roam the Earth once more.

"AAGH, I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!" I scream to the falling rain pellets, only to be answered by more thunder.

* * *

Plumber HQ

No one's POV

"We don't know that Ben was here for sure, someone could have just stolen his badge and used it to break in." Gwen tries to reason.

"That's highly unlikely, especially since Charmcaster was attacking at the same time the I.D. was scanned through."

"Manny's right, no one would want to run into a building that was being bombarded by explosions, unless they're either crazy or working with her." Agrees Pierce.

"No, Charmcaster works alone, trust me. After working under Hex, there's no way that she would ever work with anybody, unless she's using them. I know from experience." Kevin recalls the time when Charmcaster tricked him into thinking he could be free from his monstrous state from when he absorbed the Omnitrix.

"It's just too convenient to believe anything else. There's no way that a massive attack by a second rate criminal could have been synchronized perfectly with the timing of the I.D. check-in." Pierce continues to argue.

This time Helen chimes in. "It makes sense if it were Ben who broke in. Remember he's still by himself, he'll need some sort of Plumber's gear if he's going to fend for himself out there."

Gwen stands up with rage. "You can't seriously be saying that you think that Ben is working with my arch-rival! Ben would never fall to her level, whether he committed the crime or not!"

"I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying that it could have very well have been Ben who was in the building, using the attack as a distraction to grab something he needed; not that he was working with her!" Helen defended.

Silence rang for a few moments as it was clear the room was divided by two opposing ideas.

Pierce sighs. "We can't rule out any options without knowing for sure what was going on. All we know is that something isn't adding up.

* * *

Location: ?

P.O.V: ?

 _Sigh_

It has been so long since I have seen my Creator. Perhaps I have been forgotten.

I never did prove useful to my Creator. I was the only one of my kind to go un-praised or even acknowledged.

I don't like it here anymore. Ever since my Creator left, nobody seems happy. There is no more sound. And if there is, it is angry and harsh.

 _Sigh_

I turn a corner to enter a new room of my old home where I was left.

There are two beings communicating; one large and weird, the other skinny and sparkly.

"She's going to act soon" says the larger on.

"She's nothing to us, we out-power her to a ridiculous scale." Says the skinny one.

"I won't risk losing everything I built, now go find out what she's up to!" yells the wide one, again.

Now the sparkly man is upset

"Fine! I'll go. But I'm taking the resurrection and levitation charms with me."

They grunt back and forth to each other and eventually the large one leaves.

The sparkly man mutters something I can't quite hear but then summons a magical portal.

!

I can sense my Creator through that portal!

The man disappears through the window of space as it begins closing.

I dash to make my way to the portal.

And through it, I go.

I can sense her! My Creator, she's here!

"Huh, Look's like someone's had a little fun here." Says the sparkly man who's still yet to notice my proximity.

I take in my surroundings. A part of a building is nearly collapsing from being on fire and there is a large hole in a wall that shouldn't be there.

'Fun' is not the word I would use to describe the scene; 'dangerous' or 'scary' is more like it.

I make out some words that describe the building's function. 'PLUMBER'S FACILITY'

However, this is of absolutely no interest to me, as I must reunite with my Creator.

So I run off and away from the mysteriously shiny and odd man who paid me no acknowledgment, and to where I can sense my Creator the strongest.

Chief will prove useful to his Creator yet.

* * *

Ben's P.O.V.

Well, this is it.

Once again, here I am dragging myself back to the one and only person at this point who might help me.

Except this time, I've severely pissed her off. _Good job, Me._

But who can blame her? She's done so much for me and I still just couldn't do one thing to help the both of us out.

I can't be the good guy until my name is cleared.

If this is what it's come to, then I suppose I have no other choice. I'll have to be able to take a life when need be.

She was right… she was right from the very start of it all…

At least this time I'm not bleeding and didn't fall down a very unpleasant drop. That's one good change.

Sigh…

What do I even say to her?

' _Hey, I'm sorry for not killing that mugger back there, it's a good thing that you were there to impale his skull or else I could be in prison. Anyways, what do you say we team up again?'_ – was not going to work very well.

"Come on Ben, think!" I scold myself.

But after an hour of walking through the same forest as a few weeks ago, I still couldn't think of what to say.

How do you apologize to a probably evil, sadistic… crazy hot sorceress? I always did have a hard time trying to remind myself that I can't have a crush on her.

 _She's the enemy, Ben, you can't like her._

 _She hurts and steals from innocent people; you can't like somebody like that._

But… now it's different. She's not the enemy anymore. I don't have anything to tell myself to keep me from being able to think these kinds of things.

Does that mean that it's ok for me to like her now?

Uggh, nothing is ever easy for me!

As I converse with myself, I come to a clearing in the forest.

Uh oh.

I'm already here and I still haven't thought of anything to say to her.

'Well, maybe she's not home.' I try to relieve myself, only to be answered by my curse mark radiating a bright glow before fading out, signaling that it's been restored to maximum power.

'Great, she's definitely home.'

'Well, if I couldn't think of anything in an hour, then I might as well wing-it. That's at least what I did in school anyways and it worked out in the end so… what could go wrong...' I think to myself sarcastically.

I notice that she has no rock creatures posted as sentries outside of the front entrance.

She must be expecting someone … well… me… probably.

I sigh and hope for the best as I pull open the old, large door just like I did many weeks ago, just as desperate then as I am now.

There she was sitting on a throne like chair as if she was waiting for me to come crawling back to her. Can't say she wasn't wrong.

I walk in and say nothing standing about twenty feet from where she sits.

Slowly the door clicks shut, leaving the two of us all alone in room with tension levels so high it rivals defusing a bomb.

 _Silence_

She's hardly even noticing me and… oh no.

She's giving me THAT look. The look that I've seen far too many times from Gwen. The look that all women have that just screams 'ohhh, you've really done it now'.

Well… shit.

Now I really am defusing a bomb.

"Hope…" I say trying to get more of her attention.

No effect.

"I… I'm really sorry."

Without moving her head she looks me directly in the eye, glaring down at me angrily, as if she's demanding me to continue or suffer her wrath.

I take the first option.

"I was selfish and an asshole."

Still nothing.

"You were only looking out for me and I bit the hand that feeds me."

No response whatsoever.

 _Wow,_ this is really bad.

"Please! I can't do this without you! You're the only one I can trust and I still treated you like you were going to stab me in the back at any second. What I said about you and Hex was atrocious and if I could go back in time and do one thing, it would be to stop myself from saying that. PLEASE! Forgive me!"

I look down in shame; I just can't bring myself to look her in the eyes any longer.

 _SNAP_

Hope snaps her fingers and magically teleports from her throne to meet me eye to eye.

"You really don't deserve my forgiveness." She finally announces to me.

 _SLAP!_

Suddenly a pain roars to life as the sound of a perfectly executed slap across my face echoes through the room. My face is tossed around to the left, greeting my shoulder.

I grunt.

"I know, and I really do deserve that. I'm sorry."

She backs up and begins to circle around me, much like a predator inspecting its prey.

"You came to me the first time begging me for help and that you needed me. Why should I forgive you and help you this time?" she interrogates.

I fall silent as I can't think of a different answer.

"Because I still need you."

* * *

Hope's P.O.V.

"Because I still need you"

I love these word; cherish them, adore them.

Just the fact that Ben knows he NEEDS me is more than enough.

I already forgave him the moment he walked through the door. I just want to see how far I can get him to devote himself to me.

This is it, as long as I play my cards right in this very moment, everything that I have worked for my entire life – will finally pay off.

"And how do I know that you won't just do this again?" I question.

"Because this time I know to trust you absolutely." It just keeps getting better.

"And if I tell you to do something that you feel uncertain about, like for say, taking a life when need be?" I ask.

Ben answers immediately, "I'll trust you without hesitation."

I smirk behind his back before coming around to view his front once again and stopping in front of him.

"Well, while we're on the topic of trust; we should really stop keeping secrets from each other. You be able to trust me as much as I trust you and vise-versa." I tell him.

Ben meets my eye to eye. "I'll tell you anything you need to know. Just please, I can't do this by myself."

I give a comforting smile, "Well then, it looks like we're a team once again."

'Although, we'll be much _more_ than a team soon.' I tease myself.

"Thank you, I promise I will do what's necessary." Ben smiles back to me.

"We should get to work right way, the clock is ticking until the plumbers find out what we took and we can't lose this opportunity."

Ben nods and follows me as I lead him through the large house and to the back yard.

As we're walking down one of many hallways, Ben asks me a question.

"So… is this…uh… your house, like you inherited it or…?" he stutters out.

I laugh to myself. "Oh no, no this place is just somewhere I hideout until _we_ take back where I truly belong. I just found this place a few years ago sitting empty. Probably some fool's vacation home he never uses."

"What if he decides to use it while we're here?" Ben asks me.

"Then his vacation will be cut short."

I look to him to see if he looks upset at my solution, but his face remains neutral. Good.

After passing a few rooms, we reach the outside courtyard.

"So why are we here, again?" Ben questions.

I turn to face him and answer, "Well, like I said, we need to stop keeping each other in the dark. And since I already know what you can do, I'm going to show you just how powerful I truly am."

"Not to be rude or anything, but aren't your powers kinda just like Gwen's" he proceeds to ask.

I give a short laugh, "Ha! Your cousin is poking her face into something she knows nothing about. Nothing more than a dwindling fool trying to comprehend a force she'll never be able to wrap her mind around .She would be a laughing stalk if she were compared to any real magic user. I'll show you."

I bring my hand up in front of me and concentrate a ball of magic. I then focus the sphere into a more condensed, sharp image until it takes the shape of a small dagger.

"Woah, Gwen's never been able to do that before." Ben says in amusement.

I give a small smirk as I show off my talent.

I distort the dagger again, this time into a long spear.

"That's what you did to… stop… that guy who tried to mug me!" he said excitedly as he continued to watch the show.

"Exactly; whereas your pathetic cousin can only produce basic shapes, I can create much more complex and effective form."

I demonstrate by breaking down the spear into several smaller blades. With a simple flick of my hand, they all sink hilt-deep into a boulder before fading away, back into nothing.

"Hard to argue with that." Ben replies with amusement. "What else can you do?"

"Elemental summoning, force fields, magical transference, the list goes on and on. But enough of what I can do, what's really important is what _we're_ going to do."

Ben give's a clueless look. "…And that is..?"

"Taking back the Ledger Domain." I answer.

* * *

Ben's P.O.V.

Take back the Ledger? But why?

"Why? I mean other than it's your home and all…" I ask.

Hope walks closer to me.

"Because we can't hide out here forever. Some of my scouts have been noticing more and more movement getting closer to the house with every passing day. And what better place to hide than literally a different dimension?"

She does have a good point. It would take the plumbers a much longer time to find us. And even if they did, they would have to be much more careful about walking into Hope's own territory.

It actually sounded like a good idea. "Alright, sounds good to me."

Hope's expression changed to a much more serious one, almost a sad, dark one. "Of course there are other reasons."

'Of course there are.' I think to myself, unsurprised.

"The Ledger Domain was taken over when I left. Ever since then, the people there have been living under a tyranny. Constantly being forced into hard labor and little to no pay. I won't stand for it."

...Woah. I didn't know this side of Hope at all. I always thought she just wanted to conquer everything and become the world's most powerful entity.

"I'm sorry. If it's alright though, I'm curious who could be strong enough to overthrow the entire Ledger, I mean it's not a small place." I ask as sincerely as I can.

She motions for us to sit down on the smooth grass and I follow.

"I don't remember exactly, I was about nine years old when it happened. My father was the ruler of the entire Ledger and a kind one. Everything was perfect back then. Then rumors began to spread of a powerful magical being conquering worlds as he moved and that the Ledger was his final target. Of course my father brushed it off as nothing; we were the Ledger Domain, the source of all magic. How could anything rumored to be so powerful come from a different world?" she told. "But I remember one night."

* * *

Flashback

* * *

Some years ago

Ledger Domain

Young Hope's P.O.V

* * *

"Hope, sweetie, wake up."

Huh? "Daddy? What's going on?"

The ground was shaking and loud crashes and other noises were flashing to life every few seconds.

"I don't have time to explain. We have to go, now!"

He picked me up out of my bed and placed me on my feet.

My door slammed open and then was shut as soon as some hooded person slid through it.

"Uncle Hex? What are you doing here? What's going on?" I ask again.

Another larger 'Boom' explodes to life not far away.

Uncle ignored me. "Spellbinder! We don't have long, He's searching the castle. I held him off for as long as I can but we have to go, now!"

"I told you, Hex; I wasn't going anywhere until ALL of us were ready. Now, let's go."

"We can't summon the portal in here; it's too small, the room will collapse." Replied my uncle Hex in a hurried manner.

Daddy picked me up again, "Then we'll have to get to the bastion up above."

Before I knew it, the both of them were sprinting down the hall to the staircase with daddy carrying me.

What was happening? Who was in the castle?

"Daddy, I'm scared" I cried as he was almost at the end of the staircase.

"Don't be sweetie, you're going to be just fine; Uncle Hex and I are going to get you somewhere safe." He tried to calm me down.

We made it outside to the bastion at last.

Only to my horror.

Everything was on fire.

The houses, the stores, the roads. People were swarming in the chaos, trampling each other and running, while corpses lay in the streets. The Sky was tainted with a black tint from the smoke, and all I could smell was sulfur.

"Quickly, Hex! Portals and transport was always your thing, get us somewhere safe, and fast!" my dad rushed.

"I'm already on it!" grunted uncle as he began chanting a ritual.

"Well, look who it is. Going somewhere, Spellbinder?" came an unfamiliar, deep voice.

Daddy cursed under his breath.

"Be gone Adwaita! You took me by surprise when you ambushed the Ledger, but I won't let you hurt my family!" yelled Daddy back at our invader.

"What are you going to do, Spellbinder, I'm curious. I've taken several worlds and brought them to their knees; do you really think that you can stop me?" said the turtle-like monster as he took a step closer.

"You forget you're speaking to the ruler of the world of magic. You're in my domain." Threatens Daddy. But I can tell there's something in his voice that leaks concern.

"A little faster please, brother." Whispers daddy, just out of earshot from the approaching enemy.

Uncle Hex looks back at my father aggravated but also sharing the same concern, but doesn't break his chain of magical chants.

Father puts me down. "Go to Uncle Hex, Charmcaster. I'll be right behind you, I promise."

"Daddy?" I feel the warm streak of a tear running down my face.

He looks at me, "Go! Now!" he commands.

I obey his orders and run to uncle, who yelled his final chant before a portal appeared from nowhere.

"It's ready Spellbinder! Hurry!" shouted Uncle.

Daddy looked back, "Someone will have to hold him off or else he'll only follow us. You take Charmcaster and leave; I'll follow when I have a chance." And then got into a fighting stance.

"But Brother the port-"

"I SAID GO!" my father yelled.

Uncle Hex hesitated before picking me up and turning towards the portal. "I'll see you then Brother."

Uncle looked back one final time. "Good Bye."

And with that he stepped through the portal, along with me in his arms.

* * *

End Flashback

* * *

Ben's P.O.V.

"That was the last time I ever saw my father again." Hope ended.

She was doing her best to fight it, but there were tears forming in her eyes.

I had no idea that she had it this bad. No wonder she turned to hate the world. No wonder she wanted to punish it. I would feel the same.

"… Hope…" I began.

"Uncle never told me what really happened that night until I turned sixteen. Most girls get a car or something like that for their sixteenth birthday. I got the story of my father's death."

"…Hope…" I whispered

"Uncle was the only family I had left; my mother died when she gave birth to me. He was kind to me at first; he always was before that terrible night. But as time went on, I just became a reminder that he couldn't save or even try to help my father."

"…"

"Sometimes I wouldn't blame him. If my father didn't come to grab me, he could have lived to fight another day. "

All was quiet for a moment as we were both left in thought.

"But he did." I finally spoke up.

Hope looked to me.

"I can't say that I had it as rough as you did growing up. And I also can't say that my father was the ruler of his dimension. But yours was. And if there's anything that good fathers and rulers have in common, it's that they protect what they care about. Your father cared more about you and your uncle more than he cared for himself. He did what he did on purpose. He knew that you were his daughter and would one day surpass him in strength. He knew that one day you would be able to do what he couldn't: protect both his people and his family." I wasn't going to let her think that it was her fault her father died.

She tried to discreetly wipe away the forming tears, but I still noticed.

"Thank you" was all she said.

After some moments pass I decide to get back on topic. "So what's the plan for retaking the Ledger?"

Hope was in a much better state to resume planning now. "We'll need to break out my uncle Hex first. He's the only one who knows how to find or create a portal back. And we'll need to be ready for anything; who knows what Adwaita has been doing with the place since I was forced to flee."

I nod understandingly.

She then adds, "After we regain control of my homeland, we can continue plotting to regain your innocents."

She stands.

"…Wow…" spills out of my mouth without my meaning to.

I couldn't help it. She looked perfect. The way her shiny, pure, silver hair reflected off the light of the near full moon. Her long toned legs were something even supermodels would have fought over in order to have. Her hourglass figure body silhouetted beautifully in front of the moon.

'Not to mention her _other_ assets…' my mind lewdly wandered.

"See something you like?" Hope teased.

"I... uh…"

She giggled. "No please, go on; flatter me."

 _Oh no. What have I gotten myself into? I've never been good at this stuff._

"Y-Your… um... You look really good in the moonlight." I manage.

She grows a very seductive grin.

"Why thank you." She says deviously. "You know… since we're not keeping secrets anymore… I always thought you weren't too bad looking yourself."

She sits back down, right next to and facing me.

"W-what?" I whisper out of shock.

"Mhmm, in fact, it's still really more of a crush." She whispers back in a very seductive manner.

This wasn't happening. Or I must be hearing things… yeah that's it.

"Huh?"

Hope giggles. "Perhaps I can convince you." She grabbed my jacket collar and pulled me into a kiss.

Before I could even knew what was happening her tongue broke into my mouth, caressing every corner.

Her hands wrapped around the back of my neck and she pressed her body into mine, causing us to fall over.

Finally she had to break for air, though reluctant to do so. "So are you convinced yet?"

I can't form a solid answer; much less speak anything other than gibberish.

"Good." She smirks her familiar 'up to no good' smirk.

"You know, that was my first kiss Ben. And you didn't even kiss back. I can't help but feel a little disappointed. I was really hoping that you felt the same way about Me." she faked a sad tone.

At that moment my body moved on its own. I pulled her back and returned the gesture, this time taking initiative.

She once again slid her tongue into me before it wrestled for dominance.

She was unusually aggressive to say the least, almost demanding more without the use of words.

But I wasn't going to disappoint her; I kissed back.

She moaned of pleasure and broke the kiss.

"You don't know how long I've wanted this." She said under her breath.

With the pleasure gone, my senses come back to me. "Can this even work? What if when people find out that I'm innocent but we're together, what will happen?"

"I'll make it work. Besides, you're the only one that's been able to stop me before." she resolves.

Then with a snap from her fingers there was a flash of light for a split second.

Suddenly we were no longer outside, but instead in a very neatly kept room. Various books in some kind of ancient language suggested that they were spell books and we were in her room.

Hope pushed me down onto the bed as she quickly and eagerly tossed her top off to the side.

I froze in awe of her radiant beauty. And before I could even comprehend what was coming next, she discarded the only clothing left hiding her breasts.

They were perfect. Not too small without being overwhelmingly large.

"I know you're excited, Ben, but it's not fair that I have to put on a show while you get all the fun." She reminded me.

Snapping out of my trance, I began to shred off layers of clothing, starting with the jacket.

Not long after Hope is only left in her lower underwear and me, my boxers.

She climbs on top of the bed and then me.

"Now… let's see what you're hiding under here" she seductively slowly pulls down the only clothing that I have left on.

She purrs at the sight of its length when it's finally exposed and begins to almost inspect it.

"I guess I should have expected the world's greatest hero be so… extravagant "She began to tug, coaxing out any part of me that wasn't already erect.

I can't control my groan as it escapes from my mouth. This is better than anything I've felt before. There has to be some kind of magic she's using to make me feel this good, but there was no whisper of a chant to form a spell before we started, nor any old symbols or books floating in the air. She was just too good at this.

As soon as I reached my full length, she licked the top, earning another small gasp. Hope giggled a small bit before taking most of it fully into her mouth and began sucking. Slowly she made her way further and further down, until it was fully sheathed in her throat.

I nearly black-out from the pleasure. This was incredible. No one has ever been able to take all of me.

Just when I regain my ability to make sense of the world, Hope begins to bob up and down on my cock, never taking out more than half, unless it was to get air.

Nothing else in the world mattered. Not now at least. The only thing that was relevant was Hope and the magic that she was working. Then I felt it.

"H-Hope, I... I'm gonna-"

She immediately receded to the tip and used her hands to jerk me off into her mouth.

"AH! HOPE" I reached my end as she took every drop and swallowed.

I collapsed onto the bed, exhausted.

"Oh, we're not done yet, Hero boy." She warned enticingly.

She climbed further on top of my chest so that she could reach my face. She stopped for a quick kiss before moving to my ear.

She again stopped to playfully nibble on it before whispering a soft yet seductive, "You're mine."

That's all it took for my erection to return to life before she took it in her hand. She sat up and positioned it directly in front of her entrance.

Slowly she descended gasping at every centimeter she took; It took everything I had to fight my own gasps from leaving my mouth.

She came to a stop. And then I felt it.

A barrier.

No way… I'm imagining things. There's no way that Charmcaster, the hottest sorceress, much less criminal out there… was a virgin?

I couldn't help but manage a surprised look from forming on my face.

"Hope… I didn't know that…um. We can stop if you want."

She gave a convinced look, "No, keep going, I've wanted this for too long. Don't you dare stop now." She said the last part almost demandingly.

"Are you sure? I mean once you do this, there's no going back?"

"So help me, Tennyson, if you stop now, I'll personally throw you into another dimension!"

Well that settles it.

I push in breaking the only thing connecting hope to her virginity.

She gasps in pain, letting out small squeals of pain.

I wait some time until after the pain stops to continue.

Hope leans forward and kisses me rather aggressively, attacking my mouth.

She breaks the kiss. "Now, where were we?"

She sits back up and slowly at first, begins to bounce up and down, sliding my in and out.

"yess, faster!" I obey and begin to follow her rhythm.

Gaining speed, she quickly throws her head back in pleasure before grabbing my shoulders.

She unconsciously digs her nails into my skin leaving scratch marks as if an animal had taken a swat at me.

"Ahhh more! More!" she commands. Remembering my inherited ability from XLR8, I try to channel speed in to out movements. Soon we were moving faster than any normal human could possible could think of.

Suddenly Hope begins to tense. "Ah, Ben! I'm- AH-"

I feel myself rapidly coming to climax as well.

"Hope!"

We both finish simultaneously.

We decide to rest and simply cuddle under the blanket until we fall asleep.

Hope caresses the side of my face.

"I've waited so long for this, you have no idea."

It might have come across I little creepy if I actually cared how it sounded. But it didn't matter, Hope has done too much for me and I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't want this too.

I smile in a loving manner. "Well you have it now, I promise you that."

My new silver haired lover kissed me lightly on the lips, before sinking into my arms to fall asleep. Not too soon after I was too exhausted to keep my eyes open.

And there were no more questions to be asking myself.

Hope is my ally, my lover and my world. Any who want her harm are my enemies.

Together we'll clear my name of any crimes and things can go back to normal. Perhaps even better than normal now.

It's so clear now.

* * *

OH MY GOD! It's finally here! Yes. But I have so much to explain.

I have been so stressed these passed months. Between applying for colleges, finishing an Eagle Project, maintaining good grades in school, finding time to do homework and other out of school activities, and finding time to just relax; I've had no time to work on the story.

I'm going to be 100% honest with you when I say this. I haven't touched the story in at least two months just because I haven't had the time.

Unfortunately, I still have to do all of the previous things that I've mentioned. So, it might be a while before I can upload the next chapter.

But I've also been unable because I recently was in the process of changing computers. I've upgraded from just a kinda standard laptop to a _very_ nice new desktop. It's so much faster and easier to work on than my old laptop, so it will at least be easier for me to write the story when I do find the time.

It was unfair of me to keep you guys un-posted on the conditions of the story, so ill just break the news now, so you can know ahead of time.

I can't guarantee the date of the next chapter. It could be two weeks from now, it could be 3 months from now. I'm sorry, but my life has, unfortunately, more critical demands.

I truly wish there was more time for me to write. But I will try ALL that I can to continue the story in a timely manner.

On a different note,

Ben and CC are finally officially together! So that's the finally of the 1st arch. I'm sorry if it seemed a little rushed, but I've had most of this typed for a couple months now and just hadn't been able to finish it, so I kinda just wanted to get it out there.

I really hope that the lemon wasn't too bad. That's the first one that I've ever wrote. If anyone has any suggestions for how to improve it, please let me know because I'm running off my bare instincts.

Anyways, I hope to see you guys soon.

Please review, I read them ALL and they keep me motivated to continue writing. If anything, they remind me that people actually care about what I'm writing.

- _The Dark Arrow_


	8. Explanation

Hi.

Once again, I'm not dead.

I know, I know. Its been like 5 almost 6 months and you didn't even get a word from me.

Well a couple things happened in that time.

I've been going through a very large transition in life from the last 5 months to the next about 4.

I've had intense school work to keep me busy and consume most of my free time.

Actually, I had a good amount of the next chapter written, but somewhere, somehow… it got deleted. Or rather, it wasn't saved… or the save file went missing.

…

I know. It makes me even more frustrated that you, so imagine how I felt going to finish an entire 7,000+ word chapter, only to find out that about 5,500 words are gone.

Yeah… It sucks.

I searched everywhere, every major file in my hard-drive, every flash-drive I own was scanned up and down and no sign of it even existing.

So, I was back to about square 2.

And that's where I've been for like the last month or so.

 _Sigh_

All I can really do is just give you this update and promise you that I'm working on getting the next chapter up. Can't tell you when, because my schedule is never set in stone.

But I'm going to really try to get it up soon. (not going to define 'soon' but it's coming)

I also can't even leave a teaser because I only have about 1.5k words to work with for that…so… bummer

I guess I can tell you that there will be a lemon in the next chapter… so there's that to look forward to.

Well, that's all I really have to say right now.

If you guys wouldn't mind, I've been kinda down and rather unmotivated to rewrite this entire chapter. Some encouraging reviews would more than make my day and remind me how much you guys really want this.

Sorry for the disappointing news…

 _-The Dark Arrow_


	9. Chapter 7 Pre-Release

Hello.

Good news :D

First and foremost, you'll be happy to hear that the next chapter is right around the corner!

Thanks to all of your kind words and encouragement, I managed to piece together and rewrite the entire chapter, since it was lost.

And I can say that I'm much happier with it now, than how it was originally written.

It's a long chapter (probably the longest one yet) so I'm sorry that it took this long to put out.

* * *

Secondly,

I need to thank each and every one of you for encouraging me to keep going and rewrite the chapter. There are too many of you to name personally, but you were all so understanding and patient with me and the story that I forced myself to work double time in order to make sure that I got this chapter out asap. Because you guys deserve it : )

If this story wasn't so popular and I didn't have such kind and amazing reviewers, I can say that I would have definitely given up and abandon the story. You guys are truly the force that keeps me writing! And I'm grateful for that 😊

So, without a doubt, here's a preview of what's to come!

* * *

"Hey old man." I greet before sitting in a chair against the wall, adjacent to his hospital bed.

I knew I was going to be having a one-way conversation, but Gwen convinced me that Max would appreciate any conversation over silence. I would just have to pretend and guess how he would respond if he were awake.

"I see that they changed the bed sheets and replaced the flowers." I continue. "It's good to know that they're taking good care of you here."

Over the years, Max and I had grown to be very close. He taught me things that I never learned as a kid and helped me to pick up my life… even after all the trouble I caused him and his grand-kids on multiple occasions. He would just smile and forgive me each time, telling me that it wasn't too late to make up for all the harm I caused.

He showed me time and time again something that I had never seen before on the streets when I was growing up.

Care.

I don't know how he ever saw anything in me.

 _Hell,_ I never saw anything in me until we crossed paths. I was just some filthy street punk, looking for someone to rob or something to vandalize. No home, no money, no parents, no real friends. But somehow, he saw something in me that even I didn't know I had. And as time went on, and I was able to bring that out more and more, he even went as far to take pride in me.

I never knew what it was like having a dad, but whoever mine was, was clearly not half the man Max was. He took me in and raise me like I was his own.

I can never repay him for that.

* * *

And here's another little sneak peak, just as a thank you for your patients all this time.

* * *

"YOU'RE DEAD!" he exclaims.

His movement is unnaturally fast. His hand reaches for my neck, preparing to crush it within his grasp.

Time seems to slow down as I watch his hand extend towards my vulnerable throat. I see Hope's eyes widen in shock from the corner of my eye.

There's no time for me to dodge his reach. I never even saw him get this close to me; as if he just flashed right within an arm's reach of length.

If I hadn't been messing around with my newfound abilities in the past few days, this would definitely be the end of the line for me.

Fortunately, I had an ability that I had discovered to be a trump card of sorts:

Invulnerability.

I have Big Chill to thank for this one.

I could only do it for maybe a few seconds at most, and it's extremely taxing on my supply of mana as well as my body. But it could save me in situations such as this.

I focus all of my attention of the mark on my arm, calling upon its ability.

It answers by radiating a bright pink and I can feel it taking effect.

As it perfectly timed, his grasp phases right through my throat.

I step back, so that I'm well out his range and any danger that he could follow up with. Visible disbelief forms on his face.

"What the fuck? Who… What are you?" he questions.

"Who I am shouldn't matter to you. But what should matter is her." I gesture towards Hope as her eyes fill themselves with pure wrath.

"…Because she's about to be your worst nightmare."

* * *

Who are Hope and Ben fighting now? It helps to hear anything that you guys think. Please review, it helps more than you would imagine!

This is going to be a big chapter, not just in length, but in plot too. We'll get to see some true colors coming out of our characters; good and bad.

So, tell me, what do you think the next chapter will include? Whose true intentions are going to be revealed and what will they be?

I'm dying to know what you guys are thinking as readers! Its very important for me to know, so that I can write future chapters with your input in mind!

Please leave a review of what you all think!

The full chapter will be released soon, I just need to wrap up the last scene.

Until then, thank you for your patience.

- _The Dark Arrow_


	10. Chapter 7- Old Wounds

HAHA my favorite chapter to write so far is here! 8,000 words cranked out in this one! It wouldn't be here without your guys support, so thank you for keeping me going!

PLEASE REVIEW! Anything helps inspire me to continue writing! Reviews are the fuel that keeps this story going :)

Just a heads up: there's a lemon in the beginning ;)

* * *

Chapter 7

Old Wounds

* * *

Hope's POV

* * *

I was the first of us to wake up.

The warmth of the body next to me reminds me of last night.

It was real. For the fist time, it was real and not just a dream.

Ben has finally accepted me and returns my feelings. I roll around to make sure I wasn't imagining things. Rest assured there he was.

He's still sleeping peacefully, chest rising and falling so lazily. I've wished for this for so long and its finally real.

To think that every morning from now on would be spent like this. Its just too good to be true.

I can't help myself from playing with his hair. Its much longer now, less kept and darker. It loosely fell out of the way from where I swept it to the side, out of his eyes.

I must have awoken him by accident because his eyes slowly opened to reveal his unnaturally green eyes, still adjusting the light that the windows brought in from the morning sun.

I inch closer to his face to great him.

"Good morning, my love~" I whisper before gently closing the gap between our lips.

He returned the gentle sign of affection.

He smiles. "Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I have in months." I answer and sit up.

"So did I." he follows me, sitting up right, pushing the rest of the messy comforter off from the front of the bed.

He turns around to swing his legs over the side of the bed to stand. Right before he can push himself up, I wrap my arms across his waist and rest my head in-between his head and shoulder, pressing my breasts against his upper-back, hoping to provoke some kind of reaction from him. Its cute when he gets caught off guard like this.

"I'm glad, we have a long day ahead of us. You'll need the rest." I say in a soft voice.

I feel him slightly tense from the contact of skin on his back. Perfect, now to just reel him in.

"But, we _do_ have some time to kill before we can get moving. I purr in a sultry tone and continue.  
"Oh, but what are we gonna do while we wai-"

Ben finally turns his head to lock lips in a deep kiss before separating. "Shut up already." He jokes, catching on to my obvious desire.

"Gladly." I quickly let out and fell down back onto the bed, pulling him on top of me before engaging in a much-wanted make-out session.

We toss and turn all over the bed, flipping each other over and playfully wrestling for dominance.

I finally flipped him over and pinned his arms above his shoulders. Suddenly, he starts laughing.

"who would have thought that one of the worlds most powerful sorceresses and top criminals could be so playful and fun?" he giggles.

I smirk. "Who would have thought the worlds top hero would be so easy to pin." I counter lightly.

His smile only grows. "Oh, only because I let you."

Suddenly an evil thought comes together all too perfectly in my head.

"Well then that might have just been your first mistake." I grow a sinister grin. "If your so sure of yourself, then let's see you get yourself out of this one!"

To his abrupt shock, I magically chain his wrists to the bed posts, as two shackles tether his arms in place, so he can't escape.

The smirk that he was wearing so confidently just moments ago faded into a slightly worried expression. He let out a nervous laugh. "Ha-ha uhm, what are you doing?"

"Oh, me? Well you said it yourself, Hero Boy. I'm a villain. And us villains are always up to no good."

"Just play along and nobody will get hurt. In fact, I think you just might enjoy this." I tease.

He's so unsure of the situation, the look he as is adorable, only fueling my desire to continue.

"Now that we've had our night of slow, raw passion and gotten that out of the way, we can start having some real fun." I tease.

"I don't think we'll be needing these from here on." As I roughly pull of the last of his remaining clothing, that was already scarce.

"Well, well, someone' excited. And he doesn't even know what's to come." I coo slyly.

"But first, since your so confident, why don't you show me just how good you really are." I move to position myself over his head. "Do a good job, Hero, and you may just be rewarded."

He visibly gulps just before I lower myself to his mouth, just enough so that he can still breath with comfort.

He takes a moment to adjust and then gets to work, licking and worshiping his new lover.

"Ooh" I can't help but moan just above a whisper. He's must have done this before; it's too good.

His tongue dives deep into me, exploring every everywhere it can reach, hitting every spot all too perfectly.

He hits every spot all too perfectly, as if he knows where its sensitive.

"AAW, YESSS~ MORE!" I demand as my body loses control and automatically begins to grind against his face.

More and more inaudible moans and sounds of pleasure involuntarily escape my lips, as wave after wave of indescribable pleasure thrashes throughout my lower body.

My mind blanks from everything that wasn't Ben and I. The pleasure washes away any sense of stress as the world around me fades, losing myself in the feeling Ben's providing.

Out of nowhere, I can feel it, and its coming very fast.

I grip Ben by his hair and any part of his head that my hands could immediately find. I hear him slightly yelp in slight protest from the sudden and harsh action.

As the climax approaches swiftly, I force him even deeper as I'm finally pushed over the edge.

I can feel my eyes almost roll to the back of my head as I scream out, not holding anything back.

My lower part quake and tremble as he obediently stays put and finishes the job.

As I come back to reality and things settle down, I collapse out of exhaustion. Just for a little while to regain enough strength.

I really didn't think that it was going to be that good. I heard and read things that this would be one of the best things a woman could experience, but _this_ , this could not be described by words.

Slowly, I raise myself from Ben still in a sly and slightly dominant act.

" _Ben…"_ I whisper in a sing-song voice.

He stares, questioningly, wondering what was to come next.

"That was the best thing I've experienced in my entire life, my love" I compliment while gently stroking his dark raven-like hair.

He smiles "good, then maybe…" he suggests by tugging at his restraints.

"oh no, that's what makes this so fun. _I_ get to decide who give and receives pleasure this way. But don't worry, love. You gave your fair share, and now you'll receive." I tease before taking him in my hand, slowly massaging him back to full length.

"I want to know that its ingrained into your head that _this_ …" as I gesture by pumping a little faster, "is only for me. Not under ANY circumstances is it to ever even be seen by another woman. It's mine." I whisper seductively in his ear.

"If I EVER even _smell_ another woman on it…" I feel him tense up. "There are spells that can do unspeakable things to a man. And it wouldn't take too much effort for me to go dig them up."

Oddly enough I can feel him get the slightest bit harder in my grasp. 'He must actually like this to some extent…' I make a quick mental note of this.

"But I doubt that the honest and loyal hero like yourself would stoop to such levels, so I'm sure that you won't have any trouble like that." I remark as I shift downwards to his crotch area.

I adjust our posture so that I'm placed directly on top of his member, just barely touching to tease him into wanting more.

He tries to thrust his hips forward, into the air, in hopes of sealing himself inside me. But the restraints on his arms and legs prevent him form wiggling around more than a few centimeters.

"Ah, ah, ah… We're playing by my rules, did you forget?" I tease. "I want to hear just how much you want me."

I can feel him twitch with anticipation. "Please… I want this." He whimpers.

Smirking sadistically, I decide to make this little game just a little longer.

"Want what?" I jest sinisterly.

He groans "to fuck… please…"

"I don't think I understand… who do you want to fuck?" I purr as I lower myself onto him painstakingly slow.

"YOU! I NEED TO FUCK YOU… PLEASE!" he begs.

I laugh evilly. "well, all you needed to do was ask" I smirk before raising my self up and fall back down repeatedly.

He groans as he finally gets what he wants.

I can't help but laugh at his expression as I bounce up and down, adoring every moment.

This is what I've always wanted. Us; just being able to enjoy the pure bliss that we can bring each other. Being so close and on the same level that we can just read each other without the use of words. Ever since we first met, and we were young and stupid, this is what I craved for, dreamed of, and lusted for. And finally, it's here, after all the waiting, all the pain; It's finally ours.

I bite my lower lip just thinking about how were going to spend the rest of our lives like this. Together and unstoppable.

After some moments of him sliding in out of me, I can feel him tensing up steadily.

"I… I'm getting close…" he moans.

Just as I thought.

" _Ben_ …" I purr in a singsong tone.

"Tell me… who's the only girl in the world who can bring you this much pleasure?"

He moans, "uhg… You are"

"Who's the only one who can make you this happy?"

"You are!"

"I want to here you scream my name so loud that the Ledger can hear it! Who's the woman that you lust, love and fight for!?" I demand as I clench around his cock, making sure that it will drive him over the edge.

I release the restraints, giving him full control once again so that he can enjoy this as much as possible

He bucks like and senseless animal fighting to escape his captures.

"AHH…, YOU ARE, HOPE!"

And with that he reaches his end. I can feel his warmth fill inside of me as we lay still, panting.

I fall onto his slightly sweating chest, delivering a sloppy kiss.

"…H-How are you so good at this?" he asks.

I raise my head and smile. "I've waited for this day since I was a teenager. I've had a lot of time to do some 'research'."

He laughs lightly as we lay, regaining our energy.

Suddenly he jolts up, pushing me to his side unintentionally and looks me dead in the eye.

"Oh my God, we weren't using any protection… last night or just now!" his words trembles.

"Oh, don't worry about that… I did my homework, remember? There's like a million spells for this kinda thing." I laugh but reassure him.

He lets out a sigh of relief.

"that is, until we want to worry one day…" I ask, looking at him to see where he stands if he ever wanted kids.

He takes a moment to think.

"I…I don't know yet… Probably… but not until things are all sorted out and have settled down… Geez… having kids always seemed like it was years and years down the road." He thinks out loud.

"I know, don't worry. We don't have to even think about it now, I just wanted to know what you thought about it… just for the future." I comfort.

Secretly I dream about raising a family together, but like he said, it would be when were much older. Still, good to know that he wouldn't shut just the idea of it down.

A few moments of quiet go by as we enjoy the moment we have together in the quiet.

Then he lets out a quiet chuckle. "What's Gwen going to think of this? Her arch nemesis dating her cousin, after years of constant fighting and conflict?"

I turn to face him. "I don't know, but part of me can't wait to find out and see the look on her face when she does." I say lightly with a mask of innocent joking.

That's a lie. _All_ of me can't wait to show off to her that I'm fucking her beloved and trusted cousin. _ME…_ her ultimate rival, stealing away her closest family member.

He laughs in an innocent manner, "It will be quite the scene, won't it."

I join his light laughter, but for a much more sinister reason. For him it would be funny and embarrassing, but for me… it would be the ultimate insult and a declaration of war.

Stealing Ben away from her would be taking a sacred part of her past. A moment that's been in the back of my head since I was a teenager and could only dream of accomplishing.

* * *

Kevin's POV

* * *

"How is he? Anything new?" I ask the nurse who's leading me down the east wing of the hospital.

Gwen and I have been taking turns visiting Max while he's out of the fight with Pierce occasionally popping in every once in a while.

She turns her head to me to reply. "Well, he's gotten about as well as he can physically, his body is fully recovered. But we still don't know how long he's going to be asleep." She says sincerely.

"Is there anything that we can do to help?" I ask, already knowing that there isn't.

The burnet haired nurse sighs in compassion. "Unfortunately, we don't know much about comas. Getting conclusive and proven results are very rare and are often later proven to be false… I'm sorry, I really do wish that there was something more that we could do."

Just as I thought.

"I understand… and thanks. He may be old, but he's one helleva fighter." I slur, "He'll make it through eventually."

"I hope so." She smiles, "here's his room, feel free to stay as long as visiting hours permit. If you need anything, you can find me at the front desk." She waves and says cheerfully, before walking back to her post.

I open the door and there he is, looking calmly sound asleep. If only…

The T.V. is on.

I like that they leave them on. Some doctors say that in some comas, the victims can still be aware of their surroundings or can at least here some things. If that's the case, then at least the T.V. would give them something to entertain themselves with.

I can't imagine just having to sit in absolute silence, not being able to move or much less anything else. I would drive me over the edge.

"Hey old man." I greet before sitting in a chair against the wall, adjacent to his hospital bed.

I knew I was going to be having a one-way conversation, but Gwen convinced me that Max would appreciate any conversation over silence. I would just have to pretend and guess how he would respond if he were awake.

"I see that they changed the bed sheets and replaced the flowers." I continue. "It's good to know that they're taking good care of you here."

Over the years, Max and I had grown to be very close. He taught me things that I never learned as a kid and helped me to pick up my life… even after all the trouble I caused him and his grandkids on multiple occasions. He would just smile and forgive me each time, telling me that it wasn't too late to make up for all the harm I caused.

He showed me time and time again something that I had never seen before on the streets when I was growing up.

Care.

I don't know how he ever saw anything in me.

 _Hell,_ I never saw anything in me until we crossed paths. I was just some filthy street punk, looking for someone to rob, or something to vandalize. No home, no money, no parents, no real friends. But somehow, he saw something in me that even I didn't know I had. And as time went on, and I was able to bring that out more and more, he even went as far to take pride in me.

I never knew what it was like having a dad, but whoever mine was, was clearly not half the man Max was. He took me in and raise me like I was his own.

I can never repay him for that.

Suddenly, the T.V. flashed to a 'Breaking News!' head title.

The woman from the news network then appeared on the screen, looking dead into the camera.

"Breaking news this morning, as the previous hero, now controversial criminal, Benjamin Tennyson's parents come out with a late statement on the actions their son committed. Take a look."

The screen once again abruptly changed to a clip of none other than Mr. and Mrs. Tennyson themselves.

"No, we don't know where he is! Stop asking all these questions, we only know as much as everyone else." Mrs. Tennyson stated, trying to get away from all of the reporters scrambling around, trying to get footage and ask questions.

"We still don't know for certain if our son really even did do it. Either way it's probably just best for him to stay away. If he didn't do it, then he'll be convicted anyway. And if he is guilty… then he better know that he'll have a special spot in Hell waiting for him." Ben's dad stated matter-of-factly.

That was enough of that. Especially in front of Max.

I quickly turn off the mounted screen.

"Fuckin media, huh?" I gesture to the man resting on the bed.

"They'll do anything just to milk out a story, no matter how fucked up it is."

This part of me isn't an act. I _really_ hate the media.

Selfish bastards… all of them. They're all only interested in what will make them the biggest buck. They twist around stories to make them more interesting to the public eye, regardless of how sensitive the topic and spread false interpretations of the truth to the point where they might as well just lie.

Some of them are just as bad as the psychos they report on.

"You know… If you would wake up, this entire shit-show could be put to an end…" I try my luck just to humor myself.

Of course, there was no response.

 _Sigh_ , this was going to be one long visit.

* * *

Ben's POV

* * *

"If we leave now, it will be dusk by the time we get there. In other words," Hope trails as we were both already well aware of the plan.

"The perfect time to infiltrate the facility while everyone inside is forced back to their cells for lights-out." I confirm her exact thought. We went over this plan several times, but I guess we do only really have one shot.

We walk out the colossal sized front doors of the old mansion that were really more like heavily reinforced gates from the mid-evil times. What an odd taste the owners of this place had… the things are super impractical.

I'm snapped out of my A.D.D induced trail of thought when Hope wraps her arm loosely around my back, clutching my side.

"So, we're just gonna walk there?" I ask her.

She smiles innocently. "I want to take the long way. And besides, they're bound to be on the radar for any sign of magic, since I got a little carried away with my last encounter with the plumbers…" she almost laughs.

I recall the beacon of fire that lit up the sky not too long ago. Maybe 'carried away' was a bit of an understatement, but I guess it did get the job done.

Sometimes she makes it easy to forget that she grew up not having to worry too much about the consequences of her actions. Her goal was to cause destruction and panic, so of course she was good at it.

She probably didn't even flinch at the thought of casualties or worse when deciding her next moves.

But I've already accepted that these things can't bother me anymore, at least not until this is all over.

We continue walking together as the sky begins to fade and the horizon begins to leak a watercolor of orange and red.

Such a beautiful sunset.

I notice Hope's eyes glued to it as well, both of us never bothering to stop our stroll.

Then I wonder. "What's the Ledger like? I mean, I know that it's been years since you've last seen it with your own eyes, but I can't help but wonder."

She redirects her attention to me and repositions her arm on my side to around my neck with the addition to resting her head on my shoulder, completely unbothered that we were still walking. Strands of her silky silver hair tickles my neck, while the majority of it is pushed behind my shoulder.

"Hmm…" she thinks out loud. "Well, from what I can remember, it was a lot like Earth in its own ways. Much less technology though, we had no need for it." She demonstrates by twirling her gloved hand around in front of us, before small rock, no bigger and a golf ball, levitated to us from a near by old gravel road. It followed us idly before the sorceress using me as a headrest, grew bored and crushed the rock into dust by forming a magical fist in her hand.

"The actual land that we lived on wasn't as big as Earth, maybe about the size of a single large continent. At least, the one that I lived on was, there were several other smaller floating masses of land that surrounded it." She sighed. "Let's see… what else?" she lingered.

"What about the people?" I question curiously.

"Not actually a huge difference between Ledger and Earth when it comes to people. They look the same, behave the same, fight the same, love the same. Just a different dimension in truth."

"Oh." I didn't mean to sound disappointed, it just kinda came out sounding that way. I didn't know what else I should have expected. Nevertheless, Hope seemed to pick up on my disappointed tone.

"I guess there wasn't multiple cultures, like this dimension has. There's a few minuscule differences if you look hard enough, I suppose." She added.

It was silent for a short moment as I took in everything she described.

"It was a good and peaceful place for the most part. People and kids would go to parks and get together and socialize… I can't even imagine what it must be like now…" she dawns.

Refusing to let the conversation become rather dismal, I interrupt her train of thought.

"Well then, we'll just have to have a little coup d'etat of our own. After all, the rightful heir to the Ledger's throne is strong enough to give me a hard time." I tease.

She lifts her head and smirks. "Well there's no need for me to hold back anymore, so if you thought your life was hard before, I'm about to make it quite the wild-ride." The silver haired vixen counters.

I close my eyes and lean into her, expecting to meet her in a light kiss.

Instead I feel her abruptly panic and shove me away from her.

Before I have any chance to react, much less hit the ground, something whizzes past where our heads would have met. Not a half second later, a large _*crack*_ and _*boom*_ follow.

Finally hitting the dirt, I spin my head around to find a meter-wide crater where the projectile would've landed.

"Damn… just couldn't have made it that easy for me, huh? Always wanting to drag things out and waste my time, don't you?" A chillingly familiar voice calls out.

Still a little dazed form my unexpected reunion with the ground, I can't quite identify the figure that the voice belongs to.

Hope, who must have avoided the ambush much more gracefully, pulled me back up to my feet, and quickly returned to face our assailant. "Like I would ever knowingly make life easier for _you_." She spat with venom laced in her words. "What are you doing here, Michael?"

With the name revealed, the distant figure suddenly became clearer to see. And there stood one Michael Morningstar, a glowing golden aurora surrounding his physical body that looked to be made of pure gold.

How did he ever manage to sneak up on us when he glows as noticeably as a strobe light?

"Believe it or not, Haley, I'm here to kill you." He spills, sarcastically.

Hope's hand stresses and contracts from the visible anger that's unmistakably lethal.

"You can't even bother to remember MY NAME!?" she roars.

Something tells me that this was going to get a little more than ugly, fast.

The glowing man had a look of honest confusion on his face as he brought a hand up to cup his chin in a thinking position.

He snaps his finger with an 'ah-ha' moment. "HILLARY!" he exclaims.

I swear Hope's eye twitches.

Morningstar goes silent once more before trying again.

"HILDA! That's it- it's Hilda!" he convinces himself.

That did it.

Something snapped in Hope, and every living thing in a 2-mile radius could feel it.

At this point, I was glad to have been forgotten to be included in the conversation.

"WHO'S EVEN NAMED THAT ANYMORE!" She shrieked, and in one swift movement, almost un-perceivable to the eye, she summons a magically pink javelin and _launches_ it at him, at a speed that must have been Mach 10

Within the blink of an eye, the railgun speed projectile sailed past passed Morningstar, who unbelievably was able to dodge such an attack, and splintered an entire, fully grown oak tree into nothing more than sawdust.

Of every alien that I have ever transformed into, fought against, or even laid eyes on; not _one_ of them could have produced such a destructive attack.

"Well now, there's no need to be so jealous." Darkstar chastises. "Who could remember you? There's nothing spectacular about you that makes you shine over others. Just take me for an example, I mean _Look at me_ , I irradiate perfection! How could anyone forget me!" he strikes a flashy pose.

The embodiment of narcissism would be less self-obsessed than this prick.

"Yeah, you're right." Hope sneers. "I only _WISH_ that I could forget you and your disgusting ego. Now, are you going to sit there and admire yourself all day, or are you actually going to try and kill me?"

He laughs momentarily. "Eager to die? Don't worry, I've gotten so much more brilliant and stronger since we last saw each other. I'll be sure to make quick work of you. Then I'll move onto your friend there, just to be safe so that you don't have any annoying tricks up your sleeve." He gestures at me.

I move into a defensive stance, racing my mind to try and think of how to best use my new powers effectively against this guy.

"Sweetie," Hope calls my attention. "I know that I wanted you to be able to get your hands dirty, and I _do_ believe that you would be willing to fight now. But I want you to stay out of this one… just this once. This one is _personal_."

Her voice is calm and collected, but also laced with a purely sinister tone. Somehow this tone of voice actually scared me more than any other attack could have. There was something… sadistic about it; like she was going to enjoy this and drag it out as long as she can.

Not wanting to provoke her, I comply by taking several steps back.

"Now then, shall we get star-" the golden man was interrupted by a series of magical projectiles flying to embed themselves in whatever they could find in his direction.

His eyes widen from the unexpected aggression, as he quickly projects his own magical barrier to stop the incoming barrage.

Hope growled as he managed to successfully block all but one small blade that had only managed to sever a single lock of his blond hair.

He stroked a hand through this remaining hair to observe the damage. "HOW DARE YOU RUIN PERFECTION!" his anger flares. He begins to form some kind of attack before Hope intercepts him within the blink of an eye, delivering a devastating kick to the side of his right rib-cage.

I can almost hear the cracking of a few ribs as he's sent tumbling a few meters to his left. Not wasting a single moment, Hope rips an impressive amount of earth from the ground, containing several meters of hardened rock and dirt and suspends it in the air.

'A few more steps back couldn't hurt. You know; just to be safe.' I reason with myself as I recognize Hope's intention with the large chunk of sediment.

Said sorceress was now levitating in the air, along with the chunk of ground, about 25 feet above the ground. Her eyes glazed over a signature pink and levitates the rock over-top of her head, arms extended upwards as if to hold it.

"NOW DIE, YOU HIDEOUS WRETCH!" she roars.

I had never seen such fury from anyone. I thought she was angry when she had caught me sparing that mugger's life not too long ago. But _this_? This was nothing compared to that night.

'It's like she's enjoying this…'

Then she forces the large pile of earth down onto Morningstar, propelling it with her own power and assisted by gravity.

He panics to recover and when the projectile is no more than a few meters from his radiant golden body, I force myself to look away. Whatever would be left of Michael Morningstar wouldn't be a pretty sight. So, I waited, head turned and eyes closed, for a loud impact and a final shriek of terror from the glowing man.

…

But it never came.

I glance back at the scene to find Morningstar retaliating against the boulder, pushing it against the current of magical power that Hope was oppressing him with. The rock, only about a yard away from his damaged body.

As much as I hate to admit it, it was pretty impressive for him to force himself back up on his feet to protect himself after a rib-shattering injury. And not a moment to soon either. If he had taken any longer, that yard of distance between him and the chunk of earth would have closed-in before he could even realize it.

His boots were digging into the dirt as he was sliding backwards from the force that Hope was exerting on him. But he held his ground.

The rock that was suspended in the air due to the opposing forces fighting to overpower one-another, began to shatter and crack under the pressure.

Then with a loud 'crunch', the rock and finally collapsed from the pressure, breaking down into mere pebbles.

Finally, Darkstar released his hold on the debris and it fell the to earth.

He was a pitiful sight. His clothes were dusty and torn, his face had a few cuts running in random directions, his golden hair was ruffed and stained with dirt, and he was clutching his side that had received the bone-breaking kick, panting heavily.

Nonetheless, there he stood. A victory in its own.

Although his silver haired ex was no more than a little worked-up, he had managed to preserve his life from an attack that was sure to bury him 6 feet under… quite literally.

An eerie silence spread across the makeshift battlefield as both sides recovered: Darkstar from his injuries, and Hope from the consecutive series of devastating attacks she had dealt.

I don't know exactly how, but I could feel her growing exhaustion approaching as a result of the multiple heavy attacks. She just refused to show it to the physical world.

Something was off about Morningstar. He wasn't the slightest bit worried about his injuries. I know he's cocky and arrogant as hell, but anyone in their right mind would know that they're at a notable disadvantage with the wounds that he's sustained.

Then I notice something weird.

He's no longer clutching his side, but grasping something under his coat, obviously trying to hide it. It looked like a rock… no… a rune. I remember seeing a picture of these in one of Hope's countless books of magical study.

Finally, the battle resumed.

"You… _cunt_ " he spat as he shot out a blaze of golden energy at her.

Shock ran through my body as I realized that my new lover wouldn't have the time to sidestep.

She flailed back as she took the full force of the attack, falling to the soft earth below her.

When she hit the ground, Michael was already there ready to tackle her and pin her to the ground.

He held her down with a knee over her chest and restrained her arms with one of his own. His other hand was around her neck, choking her.

And then I felt it.

The horrible, gruesome pain of having magical energy forcefully drained from you. Like having millions of razer-like needles stabbing in and out of the same spot as they siphon Life itself from your body.

Hope tried to scream out in pure agony, but it was muffled by Darkstar's grip on her throat.

I wanted to scream too; fall down to my knees and double-over from the anguish. The pain was unbearable and paralyzing. But somehow my body moved on its own, as if by instinct.

Before I knew it, I was running at the speed of XLR8; not stopping to deliver a shattering knee-to-the-jaw to Morningstar, definitely breaking a tooth.

He was knocked aside, no more than a few feet from his victim. The tortuous pain finally ceased, and I knelt down to Hope, desperately dragging her away from the immediate proximity of Morningstar.

I helped her sit up and reorient herself.

Without looking towards me, she speaks. "I told you to stay away" her voice is authoritative with a hint of underlying anger.

"Fuck that. I felt every ounce of pain that you did. And by the look of things, you weren't having much luck with freeing yourself."

She doesn't say anything, so I'll take it that she sees my point.

Alas, she brushes off my hand when I offer to help her back up to her feet and does it herself.

'Wow, that's harsh. Morningstar must have really pissed her off by surviving her swift attempt to rid the world of him.'

She starts to get back into a fighting position and make her next move on the downed blond. Before she can take 2 steps I grab her wrist.

"What are you doing!? Let go of m-"she snarls.

I need to warn her of whatever that rune Michael has.

"Wait… Look at him. He should be spent; out of commission. He must have used a large amount of his energy from just defending himself. Shouldn't he be withering and feeble by now?"

She stops for a second and thinks.

"Look, he's hiding something in his coat. Some kind of old ruin or something. Whatever it is, I think its keeping him going." I explain, "He doesn't have a natural supply of magic like you do, right? He has to drain it from other things. Those attacks you gave him should have been the end of it, but he just keeps getting back up like they're nothing."

She smiles sinisterly. "You're right. He _is_ hiding something. But what could it be, I wonder…"

Darkstar finally manages to stumble to his feet, hand over his bleeding mouth.

When he speaks I notice that I had indeed knocked a tooth right out of it's gum, and it was leaking enough blood for him to have to spit it out.

His eyes are full of malice. "You know, I _was_ going to save you for later and drain you until you're nothing more than a husk. But now…"

He lunges directly at me.

"YOU'RE DEAD!" he exclaims.

His movement is unnaturally fast. His hand reaches for my neck, preparing to crush it within his grasp.

Time seems to slow down as I watch his hand extend towards my vulnerable throat. I see Hope's eyes widen in shock from the corner of my eye.

There's no time for me to dodge his reach. I never even saw him get this close to me; as if he just flashed right within an arm's reach of length.

If I hadn't been messing around with my newfound abilities in the past few days, this would definitely be the end of the line for me.

Fortunately, I had an ability that I had discovered to be a trump card of sorts:

Intangibility.

I have Big Chill to thank for this one.

I could only do it for maybe a few seconds at most, and it's extremely taxing on my supply of mana as well as my body. But it could save me in situations such as this.

I focus all of my attention of the mark on my arm, calling upon its ability.

It answers by radiating a bright pink and I can feel it taking effect.

As it perfectly timed, Darkstar's grasp phases right through my throat.

I step back, so that I'm well out his range and any danger that he could follow up with. Visible disbelief forms on his face.

"What the fuck? Who… What are you?" he questions.

"Who I am shouldn't matter to you. But what should matter is her." I gesture towards Hope as her eyes fill themselves with pure wrath.

"…Because she's about to be your worst nightmare."

His eyes turn to shock as he's reminded of her close proximity. Too late.

A bright radiant pink blade erupts right through his lower-right gut from back to front.

For a moment, all is still, quiet and eerie as the scene settles with realization.

Behind Morningstar stands Hope, tightly gripping the handle of the blade as it lies embedded in his body.

Stabbed. Clean through and through.

He gags and coughs once, spitting up blood.

Hope pulls out the length of the blade I none swift movement and Michael falls to his knees.

Just as he looks as if he's acknowledged his defeat, he suddenly panics. His arms swiftly patting all across his body searching for something… that rune…

The silver haired seductress moves to in front of panicking man.

"Looking for something…Michel…? Oh dear, it seems that I've forgotten your name already. Oh well."

She holds up the rune that I had seen before.

"I must say, it does impress me that you were able to get your hands on the Charm of Resurrection, much less any of the Charms of Bezel… These things haven't been seen since my uncle tried to use them…" she mocks.

"You…you evil bitch. I… will not… BE FORGOTTEN!" he launches his weakened body at the rune, desperately trying to swipe it from her loose grip.

It takes Hope and I both by surprise.

While he doesn't manage to get the charm in his own hands he does knock it out of Hope's, sending it hurdling through the air.

Right as it's about to land… its doesn't.

Instead, its snatched up in the mouth of a magical rock creature. The kind that Hope used to use against Gwen, Kevin and me.

But this one is small, and almost canine like. It snatches the rune out of the air like a dog catching a tennis ball.

We all watch in amazement and suddenly Hope's arms drop to her sides.

* * *

Chief's POV

* * *

I Have done it! I've finally re-united with my old creator!

Not only that, But I'm actually helping her! I can finally be of use!

I caught the rock thing!

Now to just bring it back to her and return it…

Wait. They are all staring at me.

 _Gulp_

Uh-Oh.

* * *

Hope's POV

* * *

"Oh my god." Escapes my mouth as the creature turns-tail and bolts away.

Ben looks at me suspiciously.

"He… He swallowed it." I said, only half answering Ben's unspoken question. "That rune is more powerful than you think… and we need it."

"Okay… but what's this rock thing doing all the way out here? I never saw you summon any during the fight." He continues to press.

"Ben, we don't have time for this, I'll tell you why later. Now get that rock-hound!" I demand as I leap forward to chase after my childhood creation.

Sure enough, he abandons the dying blond next to him and chases after me, only a few meters behind.

'Damnit Chief, I can never escape you. Always messing up my plans one way or another… even after all this time.'

Ben interrupts my thoughts as we chase. "Can't you just summon a portal and cut him off?!"

"It would take too long to prepare and cast. Can't you use one of your abilities and just zoom passed him?" I counter slightly frustrated over our new obstacle.

"I can't, that last stunt I pulled took everything I had just to keep me alive."

Running it is then…

"CHIEF! COME BACK HERE, YOU USELESS MUTT!" I yell at the fleeing rock-creature.

Of course, it only scares him more and runs faster to gain distance.

"Do we really need this thing? Were never gonna catch up with it." Ben complains from behind me.

"You have no idea. This is for _you_ , believe me. I could really care less about having it for myself; it's useless for me."

Finally, Chief stops. Cornered between us and…

"Oh, for fucks sake."

… An all too familiar dark-green muscle car.

Just when things seem irritating enough, I can always count on Gwen Tennyson to make my day all the more frustrating.

Ben stops besides me, quickly realizes what's happening, and pulls his hood far over his head to hide his face as best he can.

 _Click_

The car door begins to open.

"Shit, get behind me, now!" I command.

Without words, we work to hide as much as we can of him from visibility.

He's turned, facing sideways with only a fraction his is head profile visible.

Its about as good as it's gonna get. Just can't let them get close enough to make out details.

"Charmcaster!" Gwen announces to no one. "I thought those magic levels I sensed would have come from you. You are you planning?"

Annoying as always.

"Nothing of your concern, Gwendolyn. I'll just be taking my un-behaved mutt and leaving." I quickly spit, trying to cut this encounter short.

"Yeah, like I'll believe that." Enters Kevin, closing he driver's door of the car.

I ignore his remark.

"Chief, come here now." I command to the stone creature.

He hesitates a moment.

Then he runs behind the defensive stances of Gwen and Kevin.

Unbelievable! This fucking mutt! Why can't it just listen to me!

The two question the motives of the rock-being for a moment before casting concern aside when he begins trembling.

"And who's that you're trying to hide? You don't you come out and show your face!" Kevin blurts.

Damn. At least they don't know its him.

"No one. Now return my sentinel to me at once." I try again.

Gwen gets suspicious.

"Why? What's so special about this one? You never cared at all about any other ones you've summoned."

Kevin raises his boot over the head of the cowering rock creature. "Yeah, what's so important about him that would stop me from doing…" he trails before beginning to slam his foot down, crushing the head of my childhood pet.

"STOP!" I scream.

To my amazement, he relents. Only inches between Chief's head and his steel-toed boot.

My fist unconsciously clenches in frustration. I actually have to bargain with these Neanderthals.

"I'll make you a deal."

They both lower their eyebrows in curiosity.

"What could you have that we would want?" Gwen asks.

A truly sinister smirk grows to life as I form an evil idea in my head.

I can't contain a chuckle and it escapes to the outside world.

"I have an offer that you wouldn't _dare_ refuse." I lead on.

"…what?"

My teeth show as I display a devil-worthy grin.

"How about some information on your beloved missing cousin."

To say that shook them would be an understatement. Especially my unworthy nemesis.

They both froze momentarily before turning their heads to look at each other, having an unspoken debate with their eyes.

I can feel Ben behind me, tense up and become uneasy of the deal I offered.

I lightly, but affirmatively step on his foot to keep him from possibly doing something rash.

"How do we know that you're not bluffing?" Kevin finally concerns.

Not hesitating for a second, I answer. "Well, you really don't, but are you really willing to risk your only possible lead? I've heard that nobody has seen him since the night of his escape. Who knows what could have happened to him? He could be out of the damn country by now. Or dead. But at least that might give you some closure."

Gwen's face cringed in disgust.

Oh, this is perfect. They have no choice but to eat out of the palm of my hand. Unless they, unknowing to them, confess that they care less about Ben than their pride, directly in front of him.

Either way, I win… and Gwen Tennyson loses. The mere thought turns me on enough to push my ass lightly back into Ben, unknowingly to her, right in front of her cousin.

Silence fills the tense air for a brief moment, before the two 'heroes' come to an agreement.

"We'll need to think about it."

Good enough for me.

"Fine with me; but know that if that sentinel dies… so does any hope of every finding Ben Tennyson."

With that I quickly someone a portal behind Ben and push us both through it, before anyone else can react, closing it as soon as we're through so that nobody can follow.

'Know this Gwendolyn; this is step one of my inevitable checkmate. You will fall before me and beg mercy and forgiveness… and I won't give it to you.

* * *

So how was it?! This was my favorite chapter to write so far, A lot of character comes out of Hope, revealing her villainous nature.

I want to write Hope with some sadistic nature to her, while also showing just how much she cares about Ben. Her true desire to see Gwen suffer in agony has just scratched the surface when she relieves some pent-up feelings on Morningstar.

Speaking of whom… what do you think? Has golden-boy bit the dust? Was Hope too harsh on him? One things for sure is that Hope has got to be the WORST ex to have.

And who's this Chief character exactly? Any guesses anyone? I'd love to hear your theories and guesses!

Please review on your way out! I love hearing back from my readers, it lets me know how you like the story and how you feel about it :)

See you next time,

- _The Dark Arrow_


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